Of the actresses working today — and let's even include those from earlier generations — few seem able to inspire such opinion, divisiveness — even wrath — among the movie-going public as Gwyneth Paltrow.
She knows it, too.
When tabloid! caught up with the actress recently, she was in Beijing, performing ("performing" being the operative word, as you will see later) her duties as the face of US leathergoods brand Coach, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
But when the talk strays from handbags ("I am totally a bag person," she says) into her life, she opens a small window into the world of an actress continually on the receiving end of snide remarks.
She opens strongly: "A common misperception of me is that I am..." before her voice quietens. "Cold."
She gives a giggle. Whether she cares about this misperception, she doesn't reveal. But the Shakespeare In Love star is making strides, she says — not to correct people, but simply to show the world another side of her.
With projects like Glee — in which she had a recurring guest role as a substitute teacher, Holly Holliday — her cookbook, and her hilarious tweets, does she think the world is getting to know the real Gwyneth?
"I agree. I think I've had a lot of opportunity lately to express my real self, my more humorous side, my more open side," says Paltrow. "It's been a nice change."
The revelation that she actually cooks and eats — her cookbook, My Father's Daughter, is dedicated to her late father Bruce Paltrow, and has few of the macrobiotic recipes she was once famous for, and more duck, drinks and stone-baked pizza with her kids — probably went some way to changing people's perceptions of her, although it received its fair share of backlash too, mainly aimed at the price of the more unusual ingredients she uses and namely, that backyard pizza oven.
Outside the US, her smiling face adorns adverts for Coach, in a campaign shot by acclaimed photographer Peter Lindbergh. ("I've worked a lot with him in the past and we had a very fun day shooting, it was easy and fast and wonderful," she says) — another avenue for her to put herself back in the public eye, in a different way.
Longtime fan
"Gwyneth is someone that we think reflects the best of Coach aesthetics," says Coach executive creative director Reed Krakoff, ahead of a VIP dinner in Beijing's 798 art district in honour of Paltrow and the brand's anniversary.
She was signed on as the face of the brand earlier this year, and says she's been a longtime fan of the accessibly luxurious brand, and still has the first Coach bag she bought. "My favourite Coach bag, I have to say, is my original Coach bag that I still have — the cross body. It's a very chic square with a long strap. I love that one, but I also love the woven ones, the bucket ones that are around right now."
"She's someone that has a strong sense of personal style, she's intelligent, she's accomplished, and someone that is unique in her approach to fashion and style," adds Krakoff.
But it seems Paltrow's singing talents have been the biggest salvo in Operation: Love Gwyneth. In Glee, she was funny and in full voice — and sang Cee Lo Green's Forget You. In Country Strong, her film about a washed-up, alcoholic country singer, she performed all her own songs, one of which was Oscar nominated, leading to her getting back on the Oscar stage, after receiving her Best Actress Award, to sing live. That was after performances at the Grammys and the Country Music Awards in 2010. Getting up on stage is what Paltrow's all about these days it seems, so when Coach's execs invited her to Beijing for their event, they also asked her if she would perform at the dinner ("why not try?" one of the PRs told me). What did Paltrow do? Accepted with open arms, of course.
In between courses of butternut squash ravioli and braised beef short ribs (from an Italian menu designed by Paltrow's food friend, chef Mario Batali), a Stella McCartney-clad Paltrow stunned the audience when she took to the stage and belted out some of her favourites: Wishing Well, by Terence Trent D'Arby; Cruisin', her hit from the 2000 film Duets; and Forget You, the clean version of Cee Lo Green's famous song.
All this singing success lead to talk earlier this year that she was on the verge of signing a record deal, pitting her again her rock star husband, Coldplay's Chris Martin. It's something she says she was nervous about taking on.
"I was offered a few record deals but at the time I just felt that it wasn't the right time," Paltrow says, cautiously, almost questioning herself. "I don't know... You never know. I was really enjoying doing singing that was related to my acting work, like Country Strong and Glee. And I feel like I don't know how to make that transition into how to be just a singer on my own. But I'd like to do another musical movie and do a record to go with that, maybe. We'll see."
Gwyneth on...
Being a "silly person": "I am very silly with my kids — on Halloween we were very silly with make-up. I have fun with them. It can get very silly."
Her personal style: "I grew up in New York City and I went to an all-girls school where I had to wear a uniform. And that idea of a uniform — something that you wear everyday, that looks good, that's classic — I kind of have my uniform and I have a twist on it every day. I look to women of older generations like Katharine Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn, who really had their own style. Even someone like Angelica Huston today really wears what works for her and looks great."
What's next: "I want to eat some Peking duck! And then my next plan is to finish my work here and go home to London and get ready for Thanksgiving."
Mylo Xyloto: "I am definitely listening to Coldplay's album! Right now my favourite is Us Against The World or Charlie Brown."
Ageing: "I'm not afraid, it's inevitable, I am not that excited about it. I am gonna fight it every step of the way. But I also think it's nice to be a real woman who's lived life and had kids and experiences and heartbreak and joy and all of that shows on your face."
