Gwyneth Paltrow has said ambition was a “dirty word” for women when she was breaking into Hollywood during the 1990s.
The Oscar-winning actress became one of the biggest stars in the world thanks to roles in films including Seven, Emma and Shakespeare In Love.
However, Paltrow said she was never overly ambitious in an industry which frowned upon women openly striving for the top.
“In the ’90s, when I was coming up, it was a very male-dominated field,” @GwynethPaltrow told ELLE. “You used to hear, ‘That actress is so ambitious,’ like it was a dirty word. My ambition has been unleashed." #ELLEWIH https://t.co/VAjqVW7W6G pic.twitter.com/xZjhPSoqwi
— ELLE Magazine (US) (@ELLEmagazine) October 9, 2019
Paltrow, who posed topless for Elle magazine’s annual Women In Hollywood issue, told the outlet: “In the ’90s, when I was coming up, it was a very male-dominated field.
“You used to hear, ‘That actress is so ambitious,’ like it was a dirty word.”
Paltrow said her ambition has been “unleashed” thanks to her lifestyle brand Goop.
The 47-year-old had taken few acting roles to focus on the business, which she founded in 2008.
She recently made a return to the screen with Netflix series The Politician, which was co-created by her husband, TV producer Brad Falchuk.
She said Falchuk was “like a dog with a bone” convincing her to star in the show.
Paltrow revealed she said “no” when Falchuk first approached her to play Georgina, the mother of lead character Payton, played by Ben Platt.
She told her husband: “You know there’s no way I can do it.”
Paltrow relented after Falchuk and The Politician co-creator Ryan Murphy refused to take no for an answer.