Gwyneth Paltrow's mother didn't want her to be an actress.
Gwyneth Paltrow
The 'Shakespeare in Love' actress has become a Hollywood star since her career launched over two decades ago, but has claimed her mother Blythe Dinner - who is also an actress - didn't want her to follow her footsteps, as she was concerned about her daughter facing "rejection".
Gwyneth said: "[My mother] always said, 'Oh, please don't be an actress.' She was pleading with me to leverage my intellectual self more than my artistic self, and I think she was just trying to protect me from a lot of rejection. It can be a heartbreaking career."
But the 46-year-old actress has no doubt pleased her mother recently, as she revealed she is stepping away from her role as Pepper Potts in the 'Iron Man' franchise, and has scaled back her acting commitments in order to work on her lifestyle website Goop.
And when asked if she sees herself "as an actor who developed a career as a lifestyle entrepreneur, or a lifestyle entrepreneur who happened to have a career as an actor," Gwyneth admits acting was never her first love.
Speaking in a profile for the New York Times, she said: "I was masquerading as an actor."
Gwyneth - who has daughter Apple, 14, and son Moses, 12, with her ex-husband Chris Martin - previously spoke about her decision to step away from Hollywood, saying it came after she noticed the industry had shifted to focus on more blockbuster fare.
She said: "I think the movies and the business around them have changed so much in the last 20 years. I don't think any of the movies that I'm known for would get made today. Would they make 'The Royal Tenenbaums'? Would they make 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'? Would they make 'Shakespeare in Love'?"
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