An Oscar, An Empire, And Now: Gwyneth the Book

“She’s not trying to be a standout, she just is.”

That’s just one of the ways Gwyneth Paltrow is described in the new book Gwyneth: The Biography, by Amy Odell, a fashion and culture journalist. Odell wrote Anna, the 2020 bio about Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour as well as Tales From the Back Row: An Outsider’s View from Inside the Fashion Industry from earlier in her career when she was a blogger for The Cut.

Paltrow, who won a best actress Academy Award for Shakespeare in Love is one of the most polarizing women of the 21st century. Just the mention of her name can cause most people’s heads to spin around like Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist. Or as the book quotes Salon.com: “She would be easier to take if she couldn’t act at all—then, at least, there would be some rational excuse for the visceral hatred she brings out in so many.”

What has she ever done, though, to deserve such vitriol?

Just like other actresses of her generation—Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Sandra Bullock, Sarah Jessica Parker, Charlize Theron—she’s entertained us, become an entrepreneur, dated famous men, been a style icon, misspoke in interviews, and done her share of glossy magazine covers. Yet, no one else ever gets taken down with the same gusto as GP.

And so, to seek an answer to my query, I read with interest the new 448-page door-stopper.

“She’s got it . . . there is a sharp and playful intelligence beneath the gloss. . . . [Gwyneth] is f---ing borderline brilliant.” These are just a few quotes from colleagues, friends, and frenemies of the Iron Man actress who shared stories about their interactions, both personal and professional.

Alongside the praise are inside scoops (her unconventional leadership style and track record for backing questionable products and “experts,” and her dad, famed producer Bruce Paltrow, calling Gwyneth an a-hole when he saw the limelight going to her head), plus, tales that bring the juice (her romantic exploits, her years with “Uncle” Harvey Weinstein, and launching Goop on the heels of the crash of 2008, by recommending thousand-dollar-a-night hotels.).

Straus Media sat down with author Odell, who carved out time from her book tour to share her takeaway of a ’90s “It Girl” who still seems to have it in 2025.

From your copious footnotes, it’s evident how much effort and research went into this book. Can you speak to how the bio came together?

I have long been fascinated by Gwyneth and thought she would be a great subject because, for the past 30 years, love or hate her, she has been a cultural influencer. 


The book took three years. I interviewed more than 220 people—a whole different range of people. I spent the first year just reading everything I could. She’s someone who has been profiled so many times, and I was like, “How am I going to get anything new?” But then, when I started doing the interviews, I started hearing a lot of new information.

The common belief is that she’s a very polarizing person. Where have you fallen on the GP spectrum? Fan? Neutral? Hater? 


I’ve always been a fan of hers. I do love her as an actress. I love her sense of style. I actually think that a lot of her comments are just so funny. And I know we throw the word authentic around, but I think she really is authentic. She’s never tried to pretend to be someone she’s not.

I think where she becomes polarizing is when she tries to compare herself to average people, and she’s not able to do it because she’s never had an average life. Her whole life she’s been in an elite, luxurious, rarefied world. 


Also, I think, people are understandably upset about some of the pseudoscience and health misinformation that Goop has propagated.

After all your research and writing the book, has your stance changed?

I have a more nuanced appreciation for her. I still do wish that she had used her platform to get good information out into the world about health. I think it’s troubling that this stuff is spreading so much. I still remain a fan of her as an actress.

My theory as to why she’s so polarizing is that people envy her ability to truly not care about what others think.

I like that theory. I think she has been really good at brushing off some of the hatred, which quite often was sexist. When Goop had those controversies, she would double down and just continue doing what she was doing. She didn’t let it faze her. And people do admire that about her, but again, I do wish she had used her platform to get accurate information out there. 


You devote several chapters to Goop’s office culture, where the boss is demanding, the hours are long, and sometimes people are asked to perform tasks outside of their job purview. Goop sounds like every office I ever worked in.

Some people said they ignored the drama, and it was fun. And a lot of people, even though it was a chaotic environment and stressful, still had admiration for Gwyneth. I think she has strengths and weaknesses as a business leader, as we all do. Her strengths are that she cares a lot. She’s a perfectionist and wants everything to be executed beautifully. People felt her vision was very clear. I did talk to people who felt like the workload there was extreme. She’s very much a founder, someone who wants to be in control, and has a hard time delegating.

Do you think the book will change anyone’s mind about Gwyneth?

I try to be objective and fair with my books and present the facts, and let people make up their own minds about the subject. I have heard from people who like her more after reading the book, and I’ve heard from people who like her less. The people who like her more say it’s because she has very strong convictions, and they respect that. The people who like her less, I think, it’s because of the controversies she’s used to build Goop, which they take seriously. 


Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novel, The Last Single Woman in New York City.