Women we love to hate

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Gwyneth Paltrow: The Snob
In a nutshell: How fitting that the necklace Gwyneth wore on the night she accepted her Oscar was called 'The Princess'. It is this superior attitude we find so hard to stomach in Gwynnie. It has been easy for her to be so nonchalant about her career - she never really had to rough it to get where she most definitely wanted to go. She was born into a well-connected Hollywood family. Steven Spielberg, her godfather, cast her in her first movie and with the help of boyfriend Brad Pitt her career took flight. Her 'too cool for school' pose was blown bit by bit as she appeared on cover after magazine cover, and dated a string of leading men all the while moaning about the attentions of the press. Then came the Oscar acceptance speech, tearful and rambling, it blew her cover, showing us that she really did care an awful lot about herself and her career. Now when she tries to strike the same disdainful pose we don't buy it.

Things we hate about her

She complains constantly about the intrusive press but if Vogue or Vanity Fair come knocking, she is more than happy to bathe in their adulation. If a fashion editor's lips are puckered up and ready to kiss her derriere she will strip and gush with the best of them.
You sense she has the feeling that she is just a little better than everyone else. Why else would she demand a five-mile exclusion around her villa on the island of Mallorca.
She likes to think of herself as a serious artist who never thinks of the baser things in life. 'I would much rather work less and do better things - even if they are riskier and get paid less - and not compromise my integrity. If I have to travel economy then I will, but I don't want to sell out.' Yet she happily makes adverts for Martini Rossi, even though she is famously teetotal, prompting even ad execs to call her a hypocrite.
Although she dislikes intrusions into her own private life she made Sylvia, despite Ms Plath's sister eloquently pleading for the film not to be made. She says: 'I might not work for ages (when Apple is little). My mother turned down every fantastic movie there was. She turned down these amazing things that would have made her a huge movie star.' Truth is, sensing that her career had cooled, Gwyneth took the pressure off herself by saying she felt it was more important to be a full-time Mum. She soon realised that motherhood was a lot harder than poncing around on a film set and has promptly returned to pursuing her movie star career.

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Women we love to hate