to give you a little insight into Gwyneth Paltrow’s world. You may be surprised to find out that Gwyneth has authored, or co-authored, 15 books!!! You can check them all out on Goodreads.
For now, let’s have a little chat with her and see how she’s gone from actress to author and owner of a massive company called GOOP. (???)
Charity – Gwyneth! Nice to have another mom on here!! Tell me, how’s it going with being a mom and everything else you are doing? Is it hard being a working mom?
Gwyneth – I think it’s different when you have an office job, because it’s routine and, you know, you can do all the stuff in the morning and then you come home in the evening. When you’re shooting a movie, they’re like, ‘We need you to go to Wisconsin for two weeks,’ and then you work 14 hours a day and that part of it is very difficult. I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but it’s not like being on set.
Charity – Hmm. I don’t know. I think that being a mom is hard work. It is probably best not to compare. It might sound a bit pretentious, don’t you think?
Gwyneth – I am who I am. I can’t pretend to be somebody who makes $25,000 a year.
Charity – Well, I suppose that’s true. So, you have a nanny then? How do you like that?
Gwyneth – She’s French, so she’s teaching them French, and their previous nanny was Spanish, so they’re fluent in Spanish.
Charity – Wow! That’s incredible. They are pretty young. What’s your parenting style?
Gwyneth – Hands on! We all get in the tub together.
Charity – *drops coffee*. I’m sorry. Did you just say that you bath together? I’m sorry, but your kids are 7 and 9 years old, right? … You know what? Never mind.
How do you like living in Europe?
Gwyneth – I love the English way, which is not as capitalistic as it is in America. People don’t talk about work and money; they talk about interesting things at dinner parties. I like living here because I don’t tap into the bad side of American psychology, which is ‘I’m not achieving enough, I’m not making enough, I’m not at the top of the pile.’ It’s just kind of like, I am.
It is so different from the United States. It seemed to have a history, and the buildings are years and years and years old. Here in the United States an old building is about 17 (years old), and over there it’s from 500 B.C., it’s incredible.
I find the English amazing how they got over 7/7. There were no multiple memorials with people sobbing as they would have been in America. There, they are constantly scaring people but at the same time, people think nothing of going to see a therapist.
In Europe, we have great dinner parties at which everyone sits around talking about politics, history, art and literature—all this peppered with really funny jokes. But back in America, I was at a party and a girl looked at me and said, ‘Oh, my Gosh! Are those Juicy jeans that you’re wearing?’ and I thought, I can’t stay here. I have to get back to Europe. I love America too. It is just a more adolescent culture.
Charity – Don’t hold back…
Gwyneth – Brits are far more intelligent and civilized than Americans. I love the fact that you can hail a taxi, and just pick up your pram and put it in the back of the cab without having to collapse it. I love the parks and places I go for dinner and my friends.
Charity – So, basically… you hate America and would never want to live here with a bunch of dummies?
Gwyneth – I spend a good portion of my dinner-party conversation defending America because, no matter what the political agenda, it’s still a fantastic, amazing place.
Charity – huh. Ok. Glad we cleared that up!! So, what is a memory, or something “fantastic” about America?
Gwyneth – I’ll never forget it. I was starting to hike up the red rocks, and honestly, it was as if I heard the rock say, ‘You have the answers. You are your teacher.’ I thought I was having an auditory hallucination.
Charity – Maybe you were! What other explanations are there?
Gwyneth – My one light American Spirit that I smoke once a week, on Saturday night!
Charity – Ah! Ok. Gotcha. So, what kinds of things make you happy, Gwyneth?
Gwyneth – When I pass a flowering zucchini plant in a garden, my heart skips a beat.
Charity – So, you like being out in the fresh air and sunshine? Do you use a lot of suntan lotion?
Gwyneth – We’re human beings and the sun is the sun—how can it be bad for you? I don’t think anything that’s natural can be bad for you! 
Charity – I am pretty sure that there are a lot of “natural” things that are bad for you. It’s probably not the best message to send to people either! I don’t suppose you sleep in a bed of Poison Ivy, but I could be wrong. Maybe you eat it!
Do you have certain food restrictions, or is it a free for all?
Gwyneth – I basically love anything that comes in a hot dog bun… except hot dogs. I’d rather smoke crack than eat cheese from a tin and I’d rather die than let my kids eat Cup-o-Soup!
Charity – And, how does that affect your weight?
Gwyneth – If we were living in ancient Rome or Greece, I would be considered sickly and unattractive. The times dictate that thin is better for some strange reason, which I think is foolish.
Charity – Well, thanks for taking the time to chat with us here at aTransParentMom! I am sorry to cut this short, but… I really need to go do that thing…you know? Well, thanks again!
