Gwyneth Paltrow Once Hid Her Oscar Away Because It ‘Freaks Me out’
Gwyneth Paltrow won her Oscar for Best Actress in 1999 for the film Shakespeare in Love. But the good feeling the Oscar gave her didn’t last. After winning the prize, Paltrow hid the statue far away from her because it triggered traumatic memories.
Gwyneth Paltrow questioned her acting career after winning the Oscar
Paltrow was building up a credible filmography before starring in Shakespeare In Love. She’d appeared in films like Se7en, Cruel Doubt, and Malice. But perhaps it was Shakespeare that solidified the actor’s A-List status. The film saw Paltrow portray a woman who disguises herself as a man to star in a Shakespearean play. It received overwhelming critical and commercial acclaim while winning Paltrow an Oscar.
But after winning it big at the ceremony, the actor wasn’t sure what else the profession of acting had to offer her. Speaking to Sirius XM, Paltrow opened up about the surprising realization she had about being a mid-20s Oscar-winner.
“I think that when you hit the bullseye when you’re 26 years old and you’re a metrics-driven person who frankly doesn’t love acting that much, as it turns out, I was kinda like, ‘OK,’” she said.
The enormous fame that came with her newfound success also caused Paltrow’s passion for acting to shrink.
“Part of the shine of acting wore off, you know, being in such intense public scrutiny, being a kid who’s living every breakup on every headline, being criticized for everything you do, say and wear,” she added.
Gwyneth Paltrow hid her Oscar away in storage because it brought back traumatic memories
In a resurfaced interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Paltrow shared that she didn’t keep her Oscar on display as other actors might. Instead, the Iron Man actor wanted to tuck her Oscar far away from her. This was because all the statue did was bring back bad memories.
“I keep it tucked away at the back of the bookshelf in my bedroom because it weirds me out. For weeks after I won I kept it in storage… I won’t even put it on the mantelpiece, the thing freaks me out,” she said. “For some reason, I haven’t been able to feel really good about it. I just feel sort of embarrassed and it brings up weird, traumatic feelings. It’s associated with a tough time in my life.”
Paltrow didn’t bring up specifics. However, in a much later interview on the Anna Farris is Unqualified podcast, she delved into her true feelings about securing an Oscar.
“It was the weirdest most surreal time,” Paltrow explained. “You’re also kind of embarrassed that you’re nominated for an Oscar and you have imposter syndrome and you think, ‘I can’t believe this is happening. I’m not even that good. Does everybody hate me?’”
How Gwyneth Paltrow reacted to Glenn Close saying her Oscar win didn’t make sense
Iconic actor Glenn Close made headlines a while ago when she made controversial remarks about Paltrow’s Oscar win. The Fatal Attraction actor felt that Paltrow wasn’t the right candidate for the award that year, which made her skeptical of the awards ceremony.
“I honestly feel that to be nominated by your peers is about as good as it gets. And then, I’ve never understood how you could honestly compare performances,” Close said on Popcorn with Peter Travers. “I remember the year Gwyneth Paltrow won over that incredible actress who was in Central Station and I thought, ‘What?’ It doesn’t make sense.”
Paltrow caught wind of these comments on an episode with Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. But at the time, Paltrow wasn’t sure how to respond. She didn’t even know about the comments until Cohen told her about them.
“Well, I guess I have to because I don’t know enough about it. So I plead the fifth,” she said.
