Gwyneth Paltrow’s fame as an actress escalated after playing the MCU character Pepper Potts in the Iron Man trilogy. In the $2.4 billion franchise, she appears alongside the lead, Robert Downey Jr. playing the better half of his character Tony Stark aka Iron Man.
Paltrow made her acting debut in the 1989 TV film High, directed by her own father, Bruce Paltrow. She appeared in numerous successful movies including Great Expectations, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Shallow Hal, Sliding Doors, and The Royal Tenenbaums. She is also the recipient of several accolades including a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for best actress for her role in Shakespeare in Love.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Oscar Win was Unhealthy
Despite receiving the highest honor in cinematic achievement, Paltrow revealed that her Oscar win was not quite healthy, rather it took a toll on her life. She played Viola De Lesseps, the love interest of William Shakespeare played by Joseph Fiennes in John Madden’s acclaimed 1998 movie. Following her Oscar win at the age of just 26, Paltrow faced heavy criticism. The reason for the backlash was mainly for winning the award against the likes of Cate Blanchett who played Queen Elizabeth in Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth, and Meryl Streep in One True King.
Gwyneth Paltrow recently appeared on a recent episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, where she revealed her worst memories after her Oscar win. Paltrow said,
“Once I won the Oscar, it put me into a bit of an identity crisis, because if you win the biggest prize, like what are you supposed to do? And where are you supposed to go?”
She added,
“It was hard the amount of attention that you receive on a night like that and the weeks following, it’s so disorienting. And frankly, really unhealthy. I was like, ‘This is crazy. I don’t know what to do, I don’t know which way is up.’ It was a lot. Not that I would give it back or anything, it was an amazing experience, but it kind of called a lot of things into question for me.”
The honor in cinematic excellence turned out to be Paltrow’s worst nightmare, pushing her to the edge of an identity crisis.
Aftermath of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Oscar Win
Paltrow’s Oscar win was quite emotional to her. Winning an Oscar at the age of just 26 is definitely an accomplishment to cherish. In her Oscar acceptance speech, she said that her achievement owes a lot to her parents, Blythe Danner and Bruce Paltrow, while breaking down into tears. Paltrow revealed in the interview that she remembers the behavior of the press hounding her for sobbing during the acceptance of the award.
“I felt a real pivot on that night because I felt like up until that moment everybody was kind of rooting for me in a way,” Paltrow said. “And then when I won, it was like too much, and I could feel a real turn.”
Also read: “I really like him a lot”: Gwyneth Paltrow Does Not Regret Breaking Up With Brad Pitt
When the media was constantly after her, Paltrow’s father Bruce was diagnosed with cancer. “He was really debilitated. It was just this totally overwhelming moment,” Paltrow said. He passed away in 2002.
“And, you know, I was 26. I cried and people were so mean about it and I just thought, ‘Wow there’s this big energy shift that’s happening. I think I’m going to have to learn to be less openhearted and much more protective of myself and filter people out better.’
I remember I was working in England… and I remember the British press being so horrible to me because I cried. And they didn’t necessarily know that my father was dying of cancer.”
It appears Paltrow’s Oscar-win has not been healthy for her mental and emotional health. For some reason, as she said, the press was more horrible to her, just for crying on stage.
Source: Variety.
