Cutting through the Goop: What Gwyneth Paltrow’s bio reveals

Amy Odell has collected enough Gwyneth Paltrow relics to open a private museum – or a shrine, depending on how you feel about jade eggs. “I have all my Gwyneth stuff all around me in my office. Like, I have this …” the biographer says, brandishing a magazine spread with a wry smile, the kind that says: Yes, this actually happened.

In the pages of Talk from the early 2000s, Paltrow’s unmistakably serene face is photoshopped onto the body of a larger woman clad in black lingerie, posed just so. The stunt was part of the publicity blitz for Shallow Hal, that slapstick comedy which saw Paltrow declare “every pretty girl” should be forced to try on a fat suit – all in the name of teaching Jack Black a lesson about inner beauty. Looking back, it’s one of those moments that makes you pause and wonder: What was she thinking?

Gwyneth Paltrow participates in a panel discussion about global challenges as chief executive of Goop. Credit: Lauren Justice/Bloomberg

But then, so many moments in Paltrow’s career invite the same double-take. In Odell’s new, already-headline-grabbing biography Gwyneth, each one slots into the larger puzzle of Brand Paltrow: the teary Oscar for Shakespeare in Love; the Hollywood boyfriends and headline splits; the jade yoni egg that launched a thousand think pieces (and a lawsuit); the ski trial “I Wish You Well” sign-off that launched a thousand memes; and her latest role as “temporary spokesperson” for tech company Astronomer after the Coldplay kiss-cam saga. Paltrow’s quotes alone read like high satire: I would rather smoke crack than eat cheese from a can. Or: I can’t pretend to be someone who makes $25,000 a year.

The daughter of Hollywood royalty – Bruce Paltrow, the TV powerhouse and Blythe Danner, the Broadway darling – Paltrow had Spielberg in her corner as godparent and Madonna writing her notes urging her not to smoke. Odell traces the arc: from privileged upbringing to the big hits (The Talented Mr Ripley, Sliding Doors) and bigger flops (Duets, View From The Top); Paltrow’s courageous involvement in denouncing the man pivotal in building her early career, Harvey Weinstein; motherhood and two marriages (one “uncoupling”); and how she turned the mess of modern fame into an empire that taught every star how to monetise their name – one candle (not fit to print here) at a time.

“I was interested in Gwyneth because, love her or hate her, she has been in the public eye for 30 years, which in itself is extraordinary,” Odell says. “And she is fascinating to a lot of people. She’s also super polarising to a lot of people. And she’s someone who, it seems like countless articles have been written about her, but I came to see that those barely scratched the surface of who she really is. She’s a complicated person.”

Around Odell is an archive of Paltrow-abilia that has helped her prise apart the contradictions of the modern celebrity goddess: vintage profiles, issues of Goop’s short-lived print magazine, even Paltrow’s high school yearbook, where she signs off to her privileged classmates with breezy words taken from the 1989 movie Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure: “Be excellent to each other and party on, dudes.” It’s become part of the decor, Odell jokes, something Paltrow would probably abhor, given her luxury, minimalist aesthetic.

Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow in 1997.Credit: Ron Galella

Overlooking Odell’s latest project from the bookshelves is the last one, Anna, her 2022 biography of Anna Wintour, the famously inscrutable Vogue editor. Wintour provided access to friends, colleagues and family willingly. Paltrow was trickier prey. Odell went back and forth with her team, hoping for co-operation from those close to Paltrow. While they originally agreed, Odell found herself stonewalled when she reached out to Paltrow’s circle. Communication flickered on and off. It wasn’t until the book was nearly finished that the final “no” – including to a one-on-one with Paltrow – arrived.

“I don’t think it’s ever easy to do a book like this,” Odell says. “But I’m persistent. If someone says no, I’m not afraid to call them back in a year and say, ‘Hey, I’m finishing up…’ And often, they’ll talk.”

Gwyneth Paltrow cries as she accepts the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Shakespeare in Love in 1999.Credit: AP

The biography is full of delicious morsels for the internet to dine on: Paltrow has a parking spot at Goop HQ nicknamed the G-Spot. She enjoyed “teabagging” during her short-lived relationship with Ben Affleck, and described ex-Brad Pitt as “dumber than a sack of shit”. Jay-Z gave her music advice when she was considering making an album (fingers crossed!). She once encouraged Goop staff to clean up after themselves, posting in the Slack channel that “someone tinkled” on an office toilet seat. Paltrow comes across as smart and sassy, completely out of touch yet shrewdly canny and naturally talented – a whirlwind of contradictions wrapped in a luxe cashmere sweater.

“She can be cold, she can be icy, she can be aloof. People compared her to Anna Wintour,” Odell says. “But that said, she can also be incredibly charismatic and warm. If she wants to make you feel like you’re her best friend, she’s very good at it.”

Odell’s favourite gem after excavating Paltrow’s public and private trail for three years, including conducting 220 interviews?

Paltrow’s late father, Bruce, liked the finer things and insisted on flying first class. Her mother, Blythe, was more frugal and often booked economy. This, Odell discovered, infuriated young Gwyneth, who once whinged: “You mean we’re not flying first class? We’re flying no class?”

Gwyneth Paltrow during the highly publicised ski accident trial.Credit: AP

But for all the tabloid-ready trivia, Odell is more interested in the big picture: what Paltrow means for the $6 trillion Big Wellness industry she helped create. Before it became par for the course – think Hailey Bieber’s Rhode, Scarlett Johansson’s Outset, or Jessica Alba’s Honest Company – Paltrow realised that she could use her image to promote her brand instead of someone else’s. She seems scrupulous about her own health, but just as ruthless about turning that obsession into profit. Goop launched in September 2008, first as a weekly email newsletter before expanding to include publishing, production, skincare, health, fashion, events and travel businesses, all carefully curating an idea of modern womanhood and wellness.

“She was the original influencer. She was monetising her influence. She was one of the first people, I think, in the public eye to do that,” Odell says. “She’s just really good at sort of playing on public perception of her. She tells personal stories to promote and sell the products.”

Gwyneth Paltrow highlights a problem that many women face.

It’s easy to mock the pseudoscience and extravagance (Odell skipped the $700 signature cardigan, but tested the moisturiser and scalp scrub), but there’s a much darker side too: the link between Goop’s brand of “wellness” and the growing distrust of Western medicine and scientific evidence. This is a company that once claimed women should steam their vaginas, promoted “Body Vibes” stickers said to heal anxiety because they were “made with the same conductive carbon material NASA uses” and claimed wearing a bra might cause breast cancer despite zero scientific basis.

“I think she did two things for the wellness industry that were really important,” Odell says. “One, she gave it a rhetoric and a language. And we see similar rhetoric of Robert F. Kennedy Jr in the US talking about things like toxins, getting toxins out of our food, our bodies, our living spaces and our beauty products through clean eating, clean living, clean beauty. The other thing she did for wellness, that I think was really impactful, is she gave it a beautiful aesthetic.”

Odell admits she’s got the usual nerves on the eve of publication. She has no idea if Paltrow will flip through the pages over a cup of detox tea, but she doesn’t see herself as going toe-to-toe with an institution.

Biographer Amy Odell.

“I think there are a lot of stories in the book that she’ll be pleased with. There might be some that she’s less pleased with,” she says. “I think it takes some guts to write a biography in general. But no, I don’t feel like I’m going up against somebody. That’s not the idea. The idea is to start a conversation about a really interesting, impactful person.”

Odell’s never met Paltrow, but if she did in the future have a chance to sit down with Paltrow, she’d start with the obvious: “Why drink raw milk?” She’s curious if Paltrow ever worries about the harm of putting out questionable health claims, of doubting doctors and scientists.

“And I would also like to know, what is her ambition? This is assuming she would tell me honest answers. I asked so many people what drives her, what motivates her, and that was a hard question for them to answer,” she says.

For now, Paltrow isn’t answering – but the empire rolls on. She’s filming again (most recently kissing Timothée Chalamet on the movie set of Marty Supreme, in her first leading role since 2019). Goop’s future is somewhat hazier: it’s privately owned, but there were multiple rounds of lay-offs last year, and talk of a sale comes and goes.

Next up for Odell? A break. “I put a lot into the book, and I’m looking forward to being with my family. You know, I’m going to clean up my office and put all this shit into a box,” she says. And let’s be honest, the Gwyneth Paltrow museum seems like it won’t run out of curiosities anytime soon.

Gwyneth: The Biography by Amy Odell is published by Allen & Unwin on August 5.

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