Gwyneth Paltrow opens up about her Hollywood star parents’ ‘scandalous’ marriage

On By Littum

Gwyneth Paltrow has revealed why her famous parents’ marriage was once considered a “scandal”.

The daughter of actress Blythe Danner and the late director Bruce Paltrow opened up about her holiday traditions in a video with Noa Tishby, who works as Israel’s former special envoy for combating anti-Semitism. Released on the first night of Hanukkah, December 25, Paltrow reflected in the video on being raised in different religious backgrounds, as her father is Jewish and her mother is Christian.

According to Paltrow, having parents who follow different religions was “interesting”, especially given how the couple’s family viewed them negatively for it. “I grew up in a time in the seventies when I think interfaith marriage was kind of a big deal,” she said. “And so it was really hard for both of my parents’ parents that they married each other. And it was a bit scandalous.”

The Goop founder said that “nobody” in her family was initially “happy” about her parents getting married because of their different faiths. But both Danner and Bruce’s parents “grew to accept” their marriage “later in life.”

“They kind of let go of all that,” Paltrow said. She then acknowledged how lucky she was to grow up with parents who came from “different worlds and faiths” than each other.

Gwyneth Paltrow Says Her Parents' 'Interfaith Marriage Was Kind of a Big Deal'
Gwyneth Paltrow Says Her Parents’ ‘Interfaith Marriage Was Kind of a Big Deal’ (Getty Images)

“I always felt an incredible attraction to my Jewish family, I still do,” she said. “And just the traditions and the warmth and the unconditional love. And the food and the shouting and the family!”

Paltrow added, “I’m so close to everyone on that side of my family. We’re all kind of intertwined and so important to each other and just show up for each other over and over and over.”

Danner and Bruce Paltrow tied the knot in 1969 and share two children: Gwyneth and her younger brother, Jake, 49. They were married for more than 30 years before Bruce died in 2002 at age 58 after a long battle with cancer in the throat.

The Iron Man star has previously opened up about being raised by parents who worked in the entertainment industry. Last year, Paltrow spoke about the ongoing debate about “nepo baby” culture – referring to how children with famous parents have gone on to work in Hollywood and become very successful.

“Now there’s this whole nepo baby culture and judgment that exists around the children of famous people,” the actor shared Busyness in October 2023.

She went on to emphasize that when children grow up with parents who are actors, they are more likely to be involved in the entertainment industry as well.

“The truth is, if you grow up in a house with a lot of artists and people who make art and music, that’s what you know, in the same way that if you grow up in a house with law, the discussions revolve around the table about the nuances of the particular law the parents practice,” she said. “I think it’s kind of an ugly moniker.”

Paltrow is also a parent herself and shares her 20-year-old daughter Apple and 18-year-old son Moses with ex-husband Chris Martin.