Gwyneth Paltrow Distances Herself from 'Conscious Uncoupling'
Actress says it wasn't her idea to headline her divorce announcement that way.
-- Gwenyth Paltrow is distancing herself from the eye-brow raising phrase "conscious uncoupling" -- used last year to describe her split from hubby Chris Martin, according to a new interview.
The 42-year-old Oscar winner now says she wasn't the one who came up the headline for a piece announcing the separation, instead attributing it to the editorial director of her website Goop.
"When I announced that I was separating on the website, [Goop editorial director Elise Loehnen] titled the piece 'Conscious Uncoupling,' and I had no idea," Paltrow explained to Fast Company.
In the magazine's September issue, the star opened up about her website and lifestyle brand, from its humble beginnings to its bullish future.
"I had trepidation about taking that leap and defining myself as an entrepreneurial person," Paltrow explained about growing Goop from a newsletter written at her kitchen table in 2008 to a commerce site to its first pop-up store in Chicago. "I think that I felt, Who am I to start a business? If you’re already a public person, and you decide to become entrepreneurial, it just comes with a great deal of scrutiny."
Paltrow has had plenty of scrutiny since. Rather than being bothered by people's reactions, she is amused.
"I always like it when there’s a big response to something because it tells me, ‘Oh we’ve touched a nerve here, this is really interesting,’" Paltrow said. "There are a lot of media companies that would die to have the kind of response that we get from our content."
Despite juggling her two children and a thriving acting career, Paltrow is definitely at the helm of her growing business.
"I’m at Goop every day," Paltrow told the magazine. "It’s my main job. I’ve made commitments to people and I’ve taken their money, so I’m going do everything in my power to make sure that the brand scales."
That doesn't mean her passion for acting is waning either.
"I’m a big believer in the ampersand," she said. "I don’t see it as I’m leaving something behind, I see it as this year I probably won’t make a movie or I probably won’t do a TV show or a play, and I’ll focus on the business. It’s our tendency to want to put women in one little category."
While Paltrow resists being categorized, she does marvel at what she's been able to accomplish in her personal and professional lives.
"My future self is always afraid when I look back," Paltrow said. "I had this the other day where somebody was asking me about [the movie 'Emma'], which I did in England when I was 22. It was really my first starring role, an adaptation of Jane Austin's 'Emma.' And I remember at the time people saying, 'Weren’t you intimidated to play this English heroine? You’re this American girl.' When I think about it [now], I would be petrified."