Gwyneth Paltrow (born September 27, 1972)  is an American actress, singer, and food writer.  She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Seven (1995) and Emma (1996) (in which she played the title role). Following the films Sliding Doors (1998) and A Perfect Murder (1998), Paltrow garnered worldwide recognition through her performance in Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, for Outstanding Lead Actress and as a member of the Outstanding Cast. She also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011 for her role as Holly Holliday on the Fox hit TV show Glee in the episode "The Substitute". In April 2013, Gwyneth was named "Most Beautiful Woman" by People Magazine.  Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, California, and is the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and the late film producer/director Bruce Paltrow.  Paltrow's first role as the central lead was the title role in Emma (1996), for which she received critical acclaim. She had leading roles in several films throughout 1998, including Sliding Doors and the adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations with Ethan Hawke, Robert De Niro, Anne Bancroft and Chris Cooper. She also appeared in two thrillers, Hush opposite Jessica Lange and A Perfect Murder inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film, Dial M for Murder. Paltrow appeared opposite Michael Douglas as Emily Taylor, based on Grace Kelly's character from the original film, though the film was met with mixed reviews.  In 2008, she appeared in the superhero film Iron Man as Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's personal assistant, closest friend, and budding love interest.[39] Iron Man was Paltrow's highest-grossing film to date, earning more than $585,000,000 worldwide, until she reprised her role as Potts in Joss Whedon's 2012 epic, The Avengers, which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.  Paltrow said she was hesitant to appear in a big-budget project but she was won over by Robert Downey, Jr., the film's lead, and director Jon Favreau.