There is actually a heartbreaking reason behind Gwyneth Paltrow’s healthy lifestyle

‘I was thinking, almost out of desperation, that we had to be able to do something else to help him'

(Image credit: WireImage)

‘I was thinking, almost out of desperation, that we had to be able to do something else to help him'

Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the most talked-about women in the world, and from her modern approach to relationships and parenting to her strong Instagram game, she never fails to make headline news.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s name in recent years however has become synonymous with healthy living, with her luxury health brand Goop quite literally taking over the world.

But according to the 47-year-old, she wasn’t always this health conscious.

In an interview with Town & Country magazine, Gwyneth opened up about what prompted her mega health kick. The heartbreaking catalyst for her interest in health was actually her late father’s throat cancer. Bruce Paltrow was diagnosed in 1999 and sadly died in 2002.

‘His treatment was so brutal,’ Gwyneth explained to Town & Country magazine. ‘I was thinking, almost out of desperation, that we had to be able to do something else to help him. That’s when I started to research food and nutrition.’

Gwyneth continued: ‘I really believe that being alive is just a process of — if you’re not wasting your life — figuring out how you can impact the world positively. You can choose to engage in your life and participate in it, or you can back out and criticise everybody else in your arena.’

The Goop founder has approached the subject of her father’s death before in an interview with the Evening Standard, explaining: ‘I wasn't adamant enough in cleaning up his diet and getting rid of the cancer. Now I really feel I could have extended his quality of life. But I wasn’t as strong as I should have been.’

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.