Despite living her life unapologetically in the public eye, Gwyneth Paltrow is still considered a bit of an enigma – until now.
Thanks to famed biographer Amy Odell, everything fans have ever wanted to know about the Oscar winner is said to be in the pages of her new book, Gwyneth: The Biography.
From Gwyneth’s relationships with “The Brads” – former fiancé Brad Pitt and current husband Brad Falchuk – to her turbulent and saucy relationship with Ben Affleck, plus her fallings-out with one-time pals Madonna and Winona Ryder, and, of course, her privileged upbringing (famous friends and fellow nepo babies included), Amy has left no stone unturned.
But, unlike the author’s similar tome on magazine maven Anna Wintour, Gwyneth reportedly “did not participate” and has not endorsed the eye-opening read.
Still, the actress-turned-lifestyle mogul “isn’t too bothered” by Amy’s book, despite its juicy and exposing content.
“Gwyneth’s been in the Hollywood game for a long time and so has a thick skin,” an insider told Us Weekly of the 52-year-old. “This book isn’t a big deal for her.”
After completing her Anna Wintour biography, Amy said she wanted to explore the life of another woman who’d made an impact on modern culture.
“Writing about Gwyneth was a fascinating experience from beginning to end – I was surprised by what my research revealed and I can’t wait to share it with readers,” shared the author, who conducted more than 220 exclusive interviews with Gwyneth’s inner circle for the book. “The real Gwyneth – the basis of her motives, desires, strengths, faults and vulnerabilities – has never been fully revealed, until now.”
Here, WHO breaks down the biggest bombshells in the book…
The biggest bombshells in the Gwyneth Paltrow biography:
1. Let’s talk about sex … with Ben
It was only via Goop that the public learned Gwyneth had a naughty side. This Smells Like My Vagina candles, anyone? But those closest to the star have always known she’s an open book behind closed doors.
“It was the ribald side of her that her friends knew well but that the public didn’t see,” Amy wrote, adding that a lot of the details around her and Ben Affleck’s 1997 to 2000 romance were divulged in front of her glam squad, most notably famed makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin.
“She told Kevyn Aucoin in his London hotel room one day after lunch that she loved when Affleck ‘tea-b—ed’ her,” Amy wrote.
Gwyneth, herself, told Alex Cooper on her Call Her Daddy podcast in 2023 that the Argo actor was “technically excellent” in the bedroom.
Insiders were also able to share why she and the actor broke up.
“Their physical chemistry couldn’t overcome his self-destructive impulses, which may have even included cheating on her,” the source told Amy, adding that their relationship kicked off in the midst of him “struggling with alcoholism and a gambling problem”.
Sadly, the source added, “He didn’t always reciprocate her affection,” and “at times seemed more interested in playing video games with the guys at his house than being with Gwyneth”.
2. Belittling Brad
Amy’s biography delves into Gwyneth’s high-profile engagement to Brad Pitt, including the actress’ own admission that they came from “very different upbringings”.
“I think she thought he wasn’t sophisticated enough for her,” one source said of the former couple, who met on the set of 1995 film Se7en. “She thought she was smarter, better educated.”
But despite their supposed incompatibility, Gwyneth admitted to friends that she was devastated when Brad moved on with Jennifer Aniston.
Although, she is also said to have claimed her former fiancé had “terrible taste in women” and called him “dumber than a sack of s–t”.
3. ‘Disgusted’ by Madonna
Fans have long thought Gwyneth and her former bestie Madonna fell out over their mutual fitness instructor, Tracy Anderson.
But, as it turns out, the final straw was an incident that went down on what was meant to be a romantic vacation.
According to the biography, Madonna coincidently showed up on the same holiday island as Gwyneth and her then husband, Chris Martin.
“Madonna seemed to know that Gwyneth would be there, which Gwyneth seemed to find strange,” Amy wrote, adding, “Madonna then insisted Gwyneth and Martin join her for a big group dinner at a long table where Madonna went off on her daughter, Lourdes.”
The former couple were said to be “disgusted by the behaviour”, with the Coldplay frontman telling Gwyneth, “I can’t be around this woman anymore … she’s awful.”
According to the author, the actress agreed Madonna was “toxic” and severed ties.
4. Weighty role regret
Gwyneth is just as famous for her wellness empire, Goop, as her glittering acting career.
But even longer ago, her views on body image caused a few raised eyebrows.
According to Amy’s sources, in her high-school yearbook, Gwyneth claimed her life’s “nightmare” was “obesity”.
In 2001, the actress starred as a 150kg woman in Shallow Hal opposite Jack Black, whose character perceived her as a third of her size.
“Gwyneth told friends that she felt like the film could bring attention to what would later be widely termed fat-shaming,” the biography reads.
At the time, the actress said she wore her prosthetics away from the set in an attempt to see how the world viewed women of her character’s size.
“It was so sad. It was so disturbing. No-one would make eye contact with me because I was obese,” Gwyneth told W magazine.
She has since expressed her regret over playing the part in the film, which many accused of being “fatphobic”.
5. Mean girl or misunderstood?
As a Calvin Klein publicist, the late Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was said to be “irked” by label muse Gwyneth.
Amy wrote, “When there were pictures of Gwyneth in the papers, Carolyn, who viewed her as ‘little miss perfect’, would make cutting remarks about her.”
Then, there’s Winona Ryder, who has long been thought to have fallen victim to Gwyneth’s alleged thievery.
Amy wrote how it was rumoured Gwyneth got her Oscar-winning part in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love after “stealing the script from Winona’s coffee table”.
However, Gwyneth told friends that “Ryder had started the rumour and insisted she’d received the script through her agent”, the biography explains.
Pre-order Gwyneth: The Biography now via Amazon.
