For film fans of a certain generation, few actresses possess the class, talent and sophistication of the legendary Catherine Deneuve.
Once described as the world’s most elegant woman, the star is widely considered to be the epitome of French chic.
But it appears a contender from California has emerged to challenge the ice maiden’s crown – in the shape of 52-year-old Gwyneth Paltrow.
In a cover shoot for next month’s Vanity Fair, Ms Paltrow is a deadringer for the Belle de Jour actress, echoing the European star’s sultry poses and swept-back mane of hair.
In a wide-ranging interview with the magazine, she remained diplomatic as she commented on her Montecito neighbour the Duchess of Sussex: ‘I don’t know Meghan and Harry…
‘I mean, I’ve met Meghan, who seems really lovely, but I don’t know her at all. I was raised to see other women as friends, not foes… I think there’s always more than enough to go around.
For film fans of a certain generation, few actresses possess the class and sophistication of the legendary Catherine Deneuve – but it appears a contender in the shape of Gwyneth Paltrow
In a cover shoot for next month’s Vanity Fair, Ms Paltrow is a deadringer for the Belle de Jour actress, echoing the European star’s sultry poses and swept-back mane of hair
‘Everybody deserves an attempt at everything that they want to try.’
Like Ms Deneuve, Ms Paltrow has been in a string of relationships, and has revealed her regret at not ending some of them sooner.
Without mentioning names, she said on her Goop podcast: ‘I wish I could go back to those circumstances and say the hard things…
‘Even now, saying the hard thing is so difficult – especially if you want to bow out of something.
She has been married to Hollywood producer Brad Falchuk since 2018 and has a history of high-profile relationships, including with Ben Affleck and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, to whom she was married for 13 years and with whom she has two children.
Ms Paltrow told Vanity Fair that dating Brad Pitt from 1994 to 1997 was like being with royalty, saying he was ‘a very intriguing character… It’s like having dated, I don’t know, Prince William or something.’
Despite their divorce, she described Martin as ‘not quite brother, but we are a complete family… He is there for me’.
Ms Deneuve, 81, has been married once, to photographer David Bailey, but is said to have dated a string of actors including Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds and John Travolta.
In a wide-ranging interview with the magazine, she remained diplomatic as she commented on her Montecito neighbour the Duchess of Sussex: ‘I don’t know Meghan and Harry..’
Like Ms Deneuve, Ms Paltrow has been in a string of relationships, and has revealed her regret at not ending some of them sooner (Seen in 2023)
Ms Paltrow, who is filming A24’s Marty Supreme alongside Timothée Chalamet, said ‘we have a lot of sex in this movie’, describing the 29-year-old star as a ‘thinking man’s sex symbol’.
She said she does not agree with Blake Lively’s belief that it is ‘critical to have an intimacy coordinator’ on set.
While the Gossip Girl star, 37, has been outspoken about why she feels it is necessary that actors work directly with professionals to choreograph intimate scenes, the Goop founder has a very different mindset about the matter.
The Oscar winner, who was doing three to five films a year at the height of her acting career, admitted that having an intimacy coordinator on the set of Marty Supreme, alongside Mr Chalamet, was a big change for her.
‘There’s now something called an intimacy coordinator, which I did not know existed,’ she said. ‘I was like, “Girl, I’m from the era where you get naked, you get in bed, the camera’s on.”‘
Ultimately, Ms Paltrow revealed that she ended up asking the intimacy coordinator to take a step back.
Ms Paltrow, who is filming A24’s Marty Supreme alongside Timothée Chalamet (Pictured), said ‘we have a lot of sex in this movie
‘I don’t know how it is for kids who are starting out, but… if someone is like, “OK, and then he’s going to put his hand here,” I would feel, as an artist, very stifled by that,’ the mother-of-two explained.
Ms Paltrow also noted she and Mr Chalamet’s character, Marty Mauser, ‘have a lot of sex in this movie.’
After the interviewer asked if there are ‘a lot of vulnerable positions’ between she and Kylie Jenner’s boyfriend, Ms Paltrow answered: ‘Beyond.’
Read the full story by Michelle Ruiz in Vanity Fair’s April issue on VanityFair.com
