Gwyneth Paltrow is undeniably a great actor working in the Hollywood film industry right now. Making her debut in the 1989 TV film High directed by her father, she went on to appear in many prominent roles. At the age of 26, she won an Oscar for her performance in John Madden’s 1998 romance drama Shakespeare in Love. She is also a recipient of a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Paltrow has appeared in several Hollywood movies including Emma, Sliding Doors, A Perfect Murder, and David Fincher’s critically acclaimed thriller Seven. Later, she joined Marvel Cinematic Universe to appear in one of their best and most popular franchises, Iron Man. The actor plays Pepper Potts, the love interest of the superhero lead Tony Stark aka Iron Man played by Robert Downey Jr.
The Time When Gwyneth Paltrow Went Broke
Gwyneth Paltrow’s name as a star was already in the first row after her Oscar win. But around the 2000s Paltrow’s earning from her acting career was waning. She started doing campaigns for advertisement on the side to fill the gap. Around the time, her choice of movies was not that great prompting her to appear in advertisements for paychecks. The campaigns earned her enough to get back on her feet. The star said that it had been a while since she made much of her film career.
“I basically stopped making money from acting in 2002. All the things I’ve done since then have been things I’ve really wanted to do, and I have not made money from them,” Paltrow told The Guardian in 2006.
Further, the advertisement gigs like The Estée Lauder paid her enough money and freedom to choose the movies she wanted to be in. She also said that she would not want to appear in movies where she is objectified or sexualized, “and never have to do a movie where they put her in a bikini and give her a gun.” She admitted that her acting career paid her decent money but they were not anywhere near her contemporaries.
When asked about saving money, she laughed and said, “Good question.”
“I spent it on shoes. No. Well, I had saved money, but I bought a house, and I never made Julia Roberts kind of money. I made really great money, but not the kind of money.”
However, Paltrow did not disclose how much she was paid for the role.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Father Never Helped the Actor Financially
Paltrow’s father Bruce Paltrow was a popular film and TV producer of his time. He has prominent shows under his belt including White Shadow and St. Elsewhere. Despite being the daughter of a rich father, the Shallow Hal actor said that she’s all self-made. She made her name in the industry by herself and said never took any advantage of her father’s connection to the industry.
Her late father never assisted the actor financially during her tough economical period or in the journey of her acting career. “People think, ‘She’s just a rich kid,’” Paltrow once told Glamour.
“Until I was 18, I was. Then I was broke. I’ve never taken a dime off my parents. I’m completely self-made.”
Before embarking on her acting career, Paltrow revealed her passion for acting to her father. Soon, she realized that her father was not going to help her and interestingly, he stuck to his word. “I went to UC Santa Barbara, and when I quit to try to be an actress, my dad was like, ‘That’s great, but I’m not gonna help you,’” she said.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, right.’ And he was like, ‘No, I’m not.’ So I got an apartment with a roommate; I worked as a hostess at a restaurant; I would scrounge quarters to buy Starbucks—and walk there to save gas. I remember once asking my dad for money, like, ‘Please, I’m really stuck. Can you help?’ And he said, ‘You’re more than welcome to come over for dinner.’ That was it.”
According to Celebrity Net Worth, currently, Paltrow’s net worth is $200 million. She also earn part of her fortune through her lifestyle brand Goop which was worth around $250 million in 2019.
Source: ShowbizCheatSheet.