Gwyneth Paltrow discusses her childhood, not ‘wasting her life’ and hitting back at her critics

She’s known for her passion for wellness and is the founder of multi-million pound company, Goop. 

And Gwyneth Paltrow, 47, discusses what led her to take that path and admits ‘there wasn’t a lot of wellness’ in her family home growing up. 

Flashing her toned abs in a series of crop-tops for her cover shoot and interview with Town & Country magazine, she discussed her thoughts on the matter. 

Talking about her childhood, she said: ‘There wasn’t a lot of wellness in the house. My mother was environmentally conscious. She helped pioneer curbside recycling in Santa Monica, and we were the house that had the Hansen’s natural soda.’

It’s been well-documented that Gwyneth’s late father Bruce’s battle with throat cancer in 1999, prompted her journey to wellness.

She adds: ‘His treatment was so brutal, I was thinking, almost out of desperation, that we had to be able to do something else to help him. That’s when I started to research food and nutrition.’

She continued: ‘I really believe that being alive is just a process of—if you’re not wasting your f***ing life — figuring out how you can impact the world positively. 

‘You can choose to engage in your life and participate in it, or you can back out and criticize everybody else in your arena.’

During the interview, Gwyneth discusses the double standards of being an actress and a business mogul. 

She said: ‘I don’t want to unnecessarily move myself from one box to another one. In this society we like our women in one digestible way that we understand, but if you try to be something else, we don’t like it. 

‘People couldn’t for a long time believe that I was running a company, until they heard me say, “I’m giving up acting. I’ll never be onscreen again’.”

Gwyneth’s company, Goop launched in 2008 as a newsletter and has since grown to comprise the Netflix series (“The Goop Lab with Gwyneth Paltrow”), a podcast, a franchise of wellness summits, a book imprint, retail stores and popups in several countries, and countless products. 

The star also said she is convinced she is on the right track when it comes to wellness and has a message for her critics. 

She said: ‘You can keep resisting it, but I’m on the right side of this. I’m watching the market. I’m watching what’s happening. 

‘I think what this wellness movement is really about is listening to yourself, tuning into what interests you, and trying things. Find what makes you feel better and go from there.’  

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, for the last few weeks, Gwyneth and the Goop team have been supporting a variety of causes to help those affected by COVID-19. 

This week, Goop is donating 25% of profits from their GOOPGLOW 20% Vitamin C & Hyaluronic Acid Glow Serum  and 25% of profits from the G. Label outfit Paltrow wears in her T&C cover story to the Frontline Responder’s Fund, a cause very close to Gwyneth’s heart. 

She said: ‘I find that the best way to metabolize the fear that many of us feel during this time is through generosity. 

‘There are numerous people risking their lives to ensure that we’re lucky enough to shelter in place, and they need us.

‘The Frontline Responders Fund is dedicated to protecting those brave souls with necessary PPE gear, ensuring they too can come safely home to their families.’

Gwyneth Paltrow is the cover star of Town & Country’s May 2020 Issue, on newsstands now.