Gwyneth Paltrow: In Quotes
From conscious uncoupling to her love of flowering zucchini plants, click on for Gwyneth's most insightful life quotes
PA PhotosOn the simple things in life: “When I pass a flowering zucchini plant in a garden, my heart skips a beat.”
PA PhotosOn her life: "I am who I am. I can’t pretend to be somebody who makes $25,000 a year.”
Rex FeaturesOn beauty: "Beauty fades! I just turned 29, so I probably don’t have that many good years left in me.”
PA PhotosOn guilty pleasures: ”My one light American Spirit that I smoke once a week, on Saturday night.”
PA PhotosOn her friendships with women: “I think that women, especially women in my job, come to me because they know I’m very loving and non-judgmental and I’m not competitive, and I've been through a lot.”
WennOn the English: "I love the English way, which is not as capitalistic as it is in America. People don't talk about work and money; they talk about interesting things at dinner parties. I like living here because I don't tap into the bad side of American psychology, which is 'I'm not achieving enough, I'm not making enough, I'm not at the top of the pile.' It's just kind of like, I am."
On America vs. Europe: “We have great dinner parties at which everyone sits around talking about politics, history, art and literature—all this peppered with really funny jokes. But back in America, I was at a party and a girl looked at me and said, ‘Oh, my God! Are those Juicy jeans that you’re wearing?’ and I thought, I can’t stay here. I have to get back to Europe.”
Getty ImagesOn meat and men: "I don't eat red meat, but sometimes a man needs a steak."
Rex FeaturesOn grooming for 'that' sheer dress: "I kind of had a disaster. I was doing a show, I changed there, and I went and I couldn't wear underwear — I don't think I can tell this story on TV. ... Let's just say everyone went scrambling for a razor."
Rex FeaturesOn the 2013 Met Gala: "“I’m never going again. It was so un-fun. It was boiling. It was too crowded. I did not enjoy it at all.”
Rex FeaturesOn working out: "When I first started working with Tracy, finding motivation was hard. She advised me to think of exercise as an automatic routine, no different from brushing your teeth, to avoid getting distracted. Now it is part of my life."
Rex FeaturesOn her split from Chris Martin: "We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and co-parent, we will be able to continue in the same manner."
Rex FeaturesOn growing older: "I feel a sisterhood emerging around me. I'm less threatening now that I'm 40 and not 26-with-an-Oscar."
PacificCoastNews.comOn how it's tough to be a movie star mum: “I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but it’s not like being on set."
Rex FeaturesOn drinking: "I really don't like drunk women; I think it is such a bad look. I think it's very inappropriate and I don't like it. I don't really have drunk friends."
NBC/Getty ImagesOn her movie star peers: "Even actresses that you really admire, like Reese Witherspoon, you think, 'Another romantic comedy?' You see her in something like ‘Walk the Line’ and think, 'God, you're so great!' And then you think, 'Why is she doing these stupid romantic comedies?' But of course, it's for money and status."
Will Ragozzino/BFAnyc.comOn luxuries: "We've got a wood-burning pizza oven in the garden — a luxury, I know, but it's one of the best investments I've ever made."
Rex FeaturesOn an enlightening retreat in Arizona: “I'll never forget it. I was starting to hike up the red rocks, and honestly, it was as if I heard the rock say: ‘You have the answers. You are your teacher.’ I thought I was having an auditory hallucination.”
Rex FeaturesOn motherhood: “I’m just a normal mother with the same struggles as any other mother who’s trying to do everything at once and trying to be a wife and maintain a relationship. There’s absolutely nothing perfect about my life, but I just try hard.”
Rex FeaturesOn Paris: “When you go to Paris and your concierge sends you to some restaurant because they get a kickback, it’s like, ‘No. Where should I really be? Where is the great bar with organic wine? Where do I get a bikini wax in Paris?"
Rex FeaturesOn life's precious balance: “You know, I use organic products, but I get lasers. It’s what makes life interesting, finding the balance between cigarettes and tofu.”
On what her kids eat: “I would rather die than let my kid eat Cup-a-Soup.”
Rex FeaturesOn memorable food moments: “I had my first bowl of gazpacho when I was fifteen in Spain, and the impression it made was a lasting one.”
PA PhotosOn things she just won't do: “I’d rather smoke crack than eat cheese from a tin.”
Rex FeaturesOn life lessons from Jay-Z: “I don’t hold on to fear as much as I used to, because I’ve learned a lot about genuinely not caring what strangers think about me. It’s very liberating. It’s very empowering, and I’ve learned a lot of that from Jay—Shawn Carter—Z, because his approach to life is very internal. It’s a very good lesson to learn.”
Rex FeaturesOn her love of hip-hop: “He (Chris Martin) can’t have background music on. It has to be 100 percent of his attention. But if he isn’t at home, I turn on the hip-hop. I’m like a bad mutha rapping along to every word as I cook.”
WennOn her last supper: "Oysters and cocktail sauce, and then a baked, stuffed lobster and French fries. I would have a baguette and a cheese course for my dessert, and red wine."
Rex FeaturesOn having friends in high places: "Sometimes Harvey Weinstein will let me use the Miramax jet if I’m opening a supermarket for him."
PA PhotosOn being: "I love being. There's so much wisdom in it. You wake up in the morning and you think, Hey, isn't it great just being?"
On her macrobiotic phase: "During the strict macrobiotic chapter of my life, I ate miso soup every day for breakfast and sometimes with dinner as well."
