Gwyneth Paltrow

American actress sometimes compared to Grace Kelly for her cool and regal grace. The only daughter of Tony-winning actress Blythe Danner and producer-director Bruce Paltrow, she and her younger brother Jake had an advantaged childhood both in the sense of material comforts and in having a close, caring family. She did a theatrical walk-on at five with continued exposure as she grew, finding filmmaking both fascinating and familiar. When she was 11, the family relocated to a tiny townhouse in Manhattan, NY. At school she joined a singing group and took acting classes. She was pretty, popular and unspoiled, able to giggle at bad jokes or change into a clipped British accent with equal ease. Gwyneth studied history at UC Santa Barbara before she dropped out to act full time in 1991. Her poise quickly carried her into a flurry of film work. By 1995, she was involved in her first big-time romance, with Brad Pitt as the golden couple of the Hollywood-minute. Actually, they lasted two and a half years with an engagement in 1996 and when they broke up, they had the discretion to not make it a public spectacle. As the Jane Austen heroine in "Emma," Paltrow established herself as a bone fide star, and she was greatly applauded for her role in "Shakespeare in Love," for which she won the Best Actress Oscar, awarded on 3/21/1999. The year prior to her Oscar was a difficult one. She was away from home shooting "The Talented Mr. Ripley" in Italy while her dad and grandfather (who died in 1999) were both seriously ill. Working through highs and lows, Paltrow was sick in bed for ten days after the Oscars. In December 1997, she began dating Ben Affleck, with whom she co-starred in "Bounce," 1999. Lean and 5’ 10", Paltrow loves fashion and lives in an impeccably decorated New York City apartment. When not working, she attends Yoga classes daily, plays with her black Labrador retriever and spends time with girlfriends. By 2002 she appeared a confirmed expatriate, seen in the London scene and Paris fashion shows. Her dad, Bruce Paltrow, was visiting her in Rome for her 30th birthday when he became ill and he died on 10/02/2002. Via her publicist, Gwyneth announced on December 3, 2003 that she and her boyfriend, Christ Martin of Coldplay, are expecting a child due in summer 2004. The couple married quietly on December 5, 2003 in Santa Barbara, CA. Their baby, daughter Apple Martin, was born on May 14, 2004 at 1:00 AM in London, according to media report. The actress gave birth by c-section to her second child and first son, named Moses Martin, in New York City on April 8, 2006. The actress revealed in the May 2008 issue of “Vogue” magazine that she suffered from post-partum depression after the birth of her son Moses. In 2011 she released a cookbook, "My Father's Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness." Link to Wikipedia biography