Family helps Paltrow deal with stardom

http://www.canoe.ca/JamMoviesArtistsP/paltrow_gwyneth.html
July 31, 1996


LOS ANGELES (AP) -- If Matthew McConaughey has been anointed the new
male star of the year, as it appears from many magazines, then
Gwyneth Paltrow must surely fill the female side of the equation.

It has happened fast for the willowy blond, but not unexpectedly.
She is to show biz born, daughter of the acclaimed actress Blythe
Danner and Bruce Paltrow, producer of St. Elsewhere, The White
Shadow and other TV series.

After a few supporting roles, Paltrow registered impressively as
Brad Pitt's wife in the blood-soaked Seven.

The big push starts this month with the release of Emma, latest of
the Jane Austen revival. Paltrow has the title role as the mischief-
making matchmaker in a 19th-century village, not the usual Austen
heroine.

"I loved it that as a heroine she had real faults; she is human that
way," says the 23-year-old actor. "She makes a couple of really poor
judgment calls, a few real mistakes, but has the capacity to feel
the pain and to learn from them and grow."

Paltrow has had to learn quickly, not merely because she has leaped
to the top ranks of sought-after actresses. She is also the beloved
of screen hunk Brad Pitt.

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind," she said. "But the truth is, I was
raised to see the importance of family and centredness. I don't feel
that I'm in the eye of the storm, I feel that I'm over here with a
book or something, just trying to keep everything simple."

Not an easy matter, when she and Pitt are trailed wherever they go
by a small army of paparazzi. Still, she tries to maintain an
equilibrium.

"It's nice to understand that it can be fleeting, and family is what
it's all about."

Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, but moved to New York with her
parents and brother Jake at the age of 11.

"I was raised by two people who loved each other very much and loved
us very much," she said. "We always thought that we were the most
important, and then their work. We were included in their work; they
would let us come and watch.

"When my mother would do plays at the Williamstown Theatre (in
Massachusetts), we would run barefoot in and out of rehearsals. We
grew up with a great appreciation for it. We saw the magic; it was
seductive."

It was at Williamstown, where she apprenticed in a small role, that
Paltrow decided to follow the family trade. She began auditioning
and landed one line in Shout with John Travolta. Steven Spielberg
cast her as the young Wendy in Hook ("that was nepotism; I've always
known him").

She continued with small roles and stage work until 1993 when she
played a con artist in Flesh and Bone. She began working steadily:
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Jefferson in Paris, Moonlight
and Valentino, Seven. Now the star-making Emma.

Paltrow admitted not being an Austen fan as a teen at the private
Spence School in New York.

"I much preferred Charlotte Bronte, that kind of rich and textured
visceral writing. Or Dostoevsky, which is rich and psychological,"
she said.

"But it's amazing how well (Austen) translates to the screen. I
think it has to do that she's such a master at plot and character.
Each woman and each man in her stories are so full and three-
dimensional, even the smaller roles."

If starring in Emma brings her more attention, Paltrow has Pitt to
counsel her in dealing with the onslaught of stardom.

"He's been through it," she smiled. "He's incredibly wise and
helpful. If I'm having a bad day, he's wonderful about it."