Gwyneth Paltrow: ‘The Simplest Things’ Bring Happiness

Peter Kramer/AP

With an Academy Award, famous friends and a closet full of designer clothes to her name, Gwyneth Paltrow tells PARADE she finds happiness in the same place as most moms — at home.

“Slowing down, cooking for my family, having kids that are healthy,” the Iron Man 2 star muses, “as corny as it sounds, the simplest things in life have made me so happy.”

Pointing out that “it’s great to have success, it’s great to have money,” Paltrow, 37, adds, “I don’t want to give it away, but I know that if it was taken away, if I had my family, I would be OK.”

Daughter Apple Blythe Alison, 6 this month, likes to bond with mom over dress up. “She likes me to curl her hair and we play with dolls,” Paltrow shares.

Meanwhile, Paltrow says son Moses, 4, is all boy “with his punching bag and his soccer ball.” Proclaiming “I love them both so much,” the actress says that there is “something special between a mother and a son and a father and a daughter.”

“It’s very sweet,” she continues. “When I see my daughter with my husband [Coldplay frontman Chris Martin], it’s like her eyes get all big. They both love music and they’re into it. Music comes out of my son, it’s like he goes into another world.”

Comments

It’s great that she loves her family so much, but I don’t feel she can really relate to people who don’t have money.

- Hurley on May 5th, 2010

before all the negative comments start…..i’ll just say that i understand her. my family is fortunate but i know that if we weren’t, my family would find a way to be happy. money isn’t everything.

i love gwyneth. she’s so sophisticated and her sense of humor is my favorite kind. she rubs people the wrong way because she’s what everyone wants to be; gorgeous, successful, intelligent, happy, and she has legs to die for!

- izzy on May 5th, 2010

who’s asking her to relate?
we’re the ones obsessed with celebrity lifestyle,
giving her ample platform to talk about her life.
she’s not relating, she’s giving us that peep into her life that we want.
i mean, i want it.
she’s fabulous.

- julie on May 5th, 2010

Love Gwen!

- m-dot on May 5th, 2010

I don’t really understand how it could be hard to relate to this statement, I mean, how many parents, especially working parents, don’t say the same? The majority of parents I know are either working or on maternity leave, and they all say exactly the same thing!

- MiB on May 6th, 2010

I really liked her comment “it’s great to have success, it’s great to have money…I don’t want to give it away,”
Its an honest statement that not many celebs admit to, they usually try to hide their wealth and make it seem they’re ‘just like us’. I can see she knows she’s not like the average joe but does have similarities in values and family choices.

- Steph on May 6th, 2010

It’s sweet but most families who are living the life of privileged like the Martin family are quite different from the little people. Gwen and family have little too worry them in terms of financial security and that can go a long way to giving them time to enjoy their children without stress of how they will be able to buy groceries or pay for college.

- Kate on May 6th, 2010