‘WeCrashed’: How Is Anne Hathaway’s Character, Rebekah Neumann, Related to Gwyneth Paltrow?
Anne Hathaway is the latest A-list celebrity to make the move into television. In WeCrashed, the Les Miserables Oscar-winner pairs up with Jared Leto to portray a fictionalized version of WeWork power couple Adam and Rebekah Neumann. While startups like WeWork have predictable connections in Hollywood, Neumann’s celebrity family may surprise those who keep hearing the name Gwyneth Paltrow throughout the Apple TV+ series.
The dramatic love story behind Apple TV+’s ‘WeCrashed’
WeCrashed is based on a popular titular podcast by Wondery, which chronicles the rise and fall of a tech startup. WeWork promised to revolutionize the world of remote work by providing workspaces and resources to build a community with like-minded freelancers and aspiring tech entrepreneurs. While the idea looked good on paper, the company’s infamous downfall made it an international punchline.
As Vanity Fair reports, Leto and Hathaway play a fictionalized version of the Neumanns. Adam was a confident public speaker with aspirations of becoming something bigger. His natural charisma and ambition made deep-pocketed investors jump on board before realizing he was not the savvy, honest businessman he portrayed. Throughout the ordeal, his wife Rebekah was by his side every step of the way.
The saga became a popular cautionary tale about the tech-startup industry and how it can fail. However, when Hathaway looked for motivation, she soon realized the Hollywood connections went far beyond the fictional TV show.
Rebekah Neumann’s Hollywood connection
Hathaway was immediately fascinated by Rebekah upon reading the script. Then, she realized she had a mutual connection with the mother of five. She spoke with Collider about getting to know the person she portrayed on the small-screen.
“I met Rebekah through the pilot episode of what I read, and then I Googled her,” Hathaway explained. “I met her through the media reaction. And then, I realized that I knew someone that also knew her, and I called that person, and the person that they described wasn’t quite like either of those people. I thought, ‘There’s something really interesting here, about someone who comes off differently, depending on who’s talking to her.'”
While Hathaway kept her source quiet, Rebekah had firsthand connections to the Hollywood crowd through her cousin Gwyneth Paltrow. Hathaway said she purposely didn’t involve Paltrow in her latest role. Still, the Paltrow family’s roots are deeply embedded in the entertainment industry, so knowing someone with connections wasn’t hard.
Add the fact that Rebekah never made her family connections private, and it’s easy to see how Hathaway found a mutual acquaintance. According to Business Insider, Rebekah made a habit of namedropping her cousin whenever she had the chance.
“[Rebekah said,] ‘Yes, Gwyneth is my cousin,'” according to the source who knew Rebekah in college. “‘Yes, I know Brad [Pitt]. Yes, we are close. And I am going to the wedding. Next!’ That’s a direct quote [from Rebekah]. My sorority sister was aghast.”
Gwyneth Paltrow and Rebekah Neumann’s relationship
The showrunners never wanted to lean too hard on Gwyneth Paltrow, but it was hard to not address it. Rebekah’s candid admission made it an unavoidable part of her story. While she and her famous cousin appear on good terms, it’s hard to know precisely how close the actor and the billionaire are.
According to Vanity Fair, Paltrow follows her cousin’s private Instagram account, but little is known about their current relationship beyond that. Paltrow, who has experienced several controversial moments of her own, has a reputation for being out of touch when it comes to her own projects, let alone her cousin’s endeavors.
Whatever the case may be, the Paltrow connection is just another strange layer in the saga depicted on Apple TV+’s latest prestige TV show.
