Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Katherine Paltrow (born September 27, 1972) is an Academy Award-winning American actress and singer. She lives in the United Kingdom with her husband Chris Martin, lead singer from the UK band Coldplay and the rest of her family.

Paltrow was born to the late film and television director Bruce Paltrow (who was Jewish) and Blythe Danner (who was raised a Quaker and of Pennsylvania Dutch descent). Raised in Santa Monica, she attended Crossroads School before moving and attending Spence School, a private girls' school in New York City. Later she briefly studied art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, before dropping out and committing herself to acting. Paltrow has a younger brother, Jake Paltrow, and is a cousin of actress Katherine Moennig. She is an "adopted daughter" of Talavera de la Reina (Spain), where she lived as an exchange student and learned Spanish.

Paltrow is a descendant of a famous 17th-century Polish rabbi, David HaLevi Segal of Cracow, through the Russian rabbinical family Paltrowitch, which produced thirty-three rabbis over several generations. The actress has said she is very proud of being Jewish, and has attributed her father's warmth to his Jewish heritage:

"My father had that incredible Jewish warmth, really bolstering us [his children] all the time. And when you're nine years old and you're hearing that you are the best person, it gets in there, and you think, 'OK, I'm not going to be afraid to try things, because I'm always loved no matter what.' That kills me, when I think about it. It totally breaks my heart, how lucky I am." Paltrow attended Brown Ledge Summer Camp, an all-girl's camp in Vermont.

Paltrow made her professional stage debut in 1990. Her most recent stage appearance was in Proof at London's Donmar Warehouse. Her debut film was Shout (1991), and later the same year she had a small role in family friendly Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991). She later starred in Se7en (1995). Her performance in Emma (1996) received much praise, particularly in Europe and Asia.