Paltrow was the daughter of television producer Bruce Paltrow and Tony Award -winning actress Blythe Danner. By her own account, Paltrow knew from a young age that she wanted to act, and she appeared in her first part, a stage walk-on role, at age five. Her family moved to New York City when Paltrow was 11 years old.

A tall, wafer thin, delicate beauty, Gwyneth Kate Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of noted producer and director Bruce Paltrow and Tony Award-winning actress Blythe Danner. Her father was from a Jewish family, while her mother is of mostly German descent.