Gwyneth Paltrow reveals she would ‘love’ to give up acting and lean fully into wellness empire Goop

Paltrow founded Goop as a lifestyle newsletter, with the brand going on to define modern wellness culture

Gwyneth Paltrow has suggested she is ready to retire from acting and focus on her wellness empire.

The Academy Award-winning actress, who last appeared in a film role four years ago, surprised fans by admitting that she would “love” to leave the whole industry behind to focus on her multi-million dollar lifestyle brand.

Speaking at Goop event in Sydney, Paltrow said: “What would I miss? Would I miss having reflected back to me that someone thinks I’m special? That’s not good. I would want to know what I’d miss.”

Paltrow, 51, stressed that eschewing acting in recent years had allowed her to establish a routine and home in one place that she never previously had.

A regular feature in billion-dollar Marvel franchise, Paltrow established an army of followers in recent years who look to her for advice on health and relationships.

“I really love what I’m doing and I know it’s hard to understand… for people who are like, ‘You were a movie star! Wasn’t it fun?’” she said. “I like my nine to five. I like not travelling all the time and being away for months at a time.”

At the height of her career, Paltrow admitted, she was “caning it”. It took giving birth to her daughter Apple in 2004 for things to “change”.

Since 2017, Paltrow’s only acting appearances have been as Pepper Potts in the Marvel franchise (Getty Images for Daily Front Row)

“When I had my daughter, when I turned 31, it was the first time I had a breath to assess my career and [think], ‘Was I happy?’” she said.

Raised in a Hollywood family (her mother an actor and her father a film producer), Paltrow made her acting debut in 1989 when she was just 17. She rose to fame in the Nineties in films such as Se7en, Emma, and Sliding Doors, winning her Academy Award in 1999 for her performance in Shakespeare In Love.

In the Noughties, she would be best known for playing Pepper Potts in Iron Man and the extended Marvel Cinematic Universe, the only role she has portrayed since 2017. But following the launch of her wellness newsletter-turned-empire in 2008, Paltrow has largely stepped back from acting, and she announced in 2017 that she was taking a break from her craft.

Back in 2008, Paltrow launched Goop as a lifestyle newsletter providing new-age wellness advice. In the years since, the company has expanded to feature both online and physical stores, a wellness summit, a podcast and a Netflix series.

Paltrow at the 1999 Academy Awards, where she would go on to win Best Actress (Getty Images)

The company has faced criticism for promoting pseudoscience and the sale of controversial items such as jade eggs and vagina-scented candles. This week, Paltrow shared her 2023 Christmas gift guide, which includes a $15,000 (£12,300) vibrator and a $2,000 (£1,640) gong.

Earlier this year, Paltrow reflected on her acting career and how her controversial Oscar win gave her an “identity crisis”.

“If you win the biggest prize, like, what are you supposed to do? And where are you supposed to go?” she said. “It was hard the amount of attention that you receive on a night like that and the weeks following, it’s so disorienting. And frankly, really unhealthy. I was like, ‘This is crazy. I don’t know what to do, I don’t know which way is up.’”

Paltrow added: “It was a lot. Not that I would give it back or anything, it was an amazing experience, but it kind of called a lot of things into question for me.”

10 of the Goopiest gifts from Paltrow’s present guide:

Backgammon set, $14,580 (£11,986)

Escargot-shaped toothpicks, $567 (£466)

Chanel roller skates, $5,125 (£4,213)

Heated ice press, from $1,500 (£1,233)

Moon calendar, $39 (£32)

Library curation, price upon request

24-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano, $396 (£325)

Hermès dog house, $1,925 (£1,582)

Black truffle microwave popcorn, $15 (£12)

Inner light vase, $2,500 (£2,055)