The daughter of filmmaker Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, she established herself as a leading lady appearing in mainly mid-budget and period films during the 1990s and early 2000s, before transitioning to blockbusters and franchises.

She made her West End debut in the David Auburn play Proof (2003) earning a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress nomination, and reprised the role in the 2005 film of the same name.

"[32] In 1995, she starred in the thriller Se7en, as the wife of a young detective (Brad Pitt), who is partnered with the retiring William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and then tasked with tracking down a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as tropes in his murders.

'"[36] While she recovered from wisdom-tooth surgery, Paltrow had a month to herself to do research for the part;[37] she studied horsemanship, dancing, singing, archery and the "highly stylized" manners and dialect during a 3-week rehearsal period.

[40] 1998 marked a turning point in Paltrow's career as she took on leading roles in five high-profile film releases in the year—Great Expectations, Sliding Doors, Hush, A Perfect Murder and Shakespeare in Love.

In the adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations, also starring Ethan Hawke, Robert De Niro, Anne Bancroft and Chris Cooper, she played the unrequited and haughty childhood love of a New York City painter.

While The Guardian, noting the "very underwritten" female roles in the story, found her to be "peaky and pallid",[53] the film received positive reviews and grossed $80 million in North America.

"[57] In the Wes Anderson dramedy The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), co-starring Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson, Paltrow took on the role of the adopted daughter in an estranged family of former child prodigies reuniting with their father.

[25] In The Guardian, she said she divided her career into movies for love and films for money: The Royal Tenenbaums, Proof, and Sylvia fell into the former category, while she signed on to View from the Top and Shallow Hal for the latter.

[29] In 2002, Paltrow made small appearances in the documentary Searching for Debra Winger and the action satire comedy Austin Powers in Goldmember, while she starred in the thriller-drama Possession with Aaron Eckhart as a couple of literary scholars who unearth the amorous secret of two Victorian poets as they find themselves falling under a deepening connection.

[62] In the following year, she headlined the romantic comedy View from the Top, where she played the part of a woman from a small town who sets out to fulfill her dream of becoming a flight attendant.

"[72] Paltrow saw a resurgence in her career in 2008 when she was cast in Iron Man as Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's personal assistant, closest friend, and budding love interest.

[84] The consensus of review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes was: "The cast gives it their all, and Paltrow handles her songs with aplomb, but Country Strong's clichéd, disjointed screenplay hits too many bum notes.

[86] Paltrow made her first scripted television appearance[87] on Fox's Glee, as substitute teacher Holly Holliday, who fills in for Matthew Morrison's character when he falls ill.

Her role was developed by co-creator Ryan Murphy, a personal friend of Paltrow's, who suggested that she showcase her vocal and dancing abilities ahead of the release of Country Strong.

[88] In her first episode, "The Substitute", she sang "Nowadays" from the musical Chicago with Lea Michele, CeeLo Green's "Forget You", and a mash-up of "Singin' In the Rain" and Rihanna's "Umbrella" with Morrison and the rest of the cast.

[89] Her debut on Glee attracted significant buzz and positive commentary from critics; she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

[93] She reprised her role twice more that season, performing "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" by Gary Glitter, an acoustic version of "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, "Kiss" by Prince, and Adele's "Turning Tables".

[94] Later that year, Paltrow appeared in Steven Soderbergh's film Contagion, featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet and her The Talented Mr. Ripley co-stars Matt Damon and Jude Law.

[98] Also in 2012, she starred in the independent romantic dramedy Thanks for Sharing, opposite Mark Ruffalo as people learning to face a challenging and confusing road as they struggle together against sex addiction.

In January 2021, it was announced that Paltrow was an early investor in Thirteen Lune, an e-commerce site focused on makeup, skincare, haircare, and wellness products owned by people of color and ally brands.

[200] In January 2019, retired optometrist Terry Sanderson sued Paltrow, claiming that three years earlier she collided with him on a ski slope at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, causing him permanent traumatic brain injury.

[209] According to Charles Taylor of Salon, much of these performances were defined by a "blasé" demeanor that made her endearing at times, but overall demonstrated "a promising actress who needed some training to refine her potential".

[25] Critic Wesley Morris defended her acting, calling Paltrow among the final generation of movie stars "for whom stardom and skill seem scarily, thrillingly natural" and "for a while, the best young American actor in Hollywood".

[240] Journalist Hadley Freeman believes Paltrow is completely in control of how she is perceived, describing her as a performer who has ingeniously cultivated an overexposed image that allows her career to benefit from being a parody of the modern-day celebrity.

[232] Describing her as "successful, opinionated and seemingly happy" in 2013, journalist Tanya Gold attributed her unpopularity – particularly among women – to her "venturing beyond the accepted Hollywood script and expressing her thoughts about clothing, motherhood and nutrition".

[235][240][243] The Independent said "The very trial that threatened to harm her reputation — one that has not been exempt from its fair amount of controversies over questionable advice ... ultimately invigorated the Hollywood actor’s image in the court of public opinion".

[243] However, Alex Abad-Santos of Vox argued that, rather than seek sympathy or relatability, Paltrow embraced the stereotypes her detractors had long accused her of perpetuating, ultimately to her own benefit.

[244] Paltrow's penchant for wearing understated luxury-brand clothing during the trial also received widespread coverage,[245] inspiring a trend known as "courtcore", as coined by The New York Times fashion journalist Vanessa Friedman.

[246] In a 2021 article for Vogue, Keaton Bell defined her as "one of our last, true A-listers" whose "every move consumes daily headlines", observing that she "is now better known as a fabulously out-of-touch entrepreneur than an actor, and she seems perfectly fine with that".