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Happy Birthday to You

2011 September 27
by WWGD

Here’s the thing. I am not obsessed with Gwyneth or anything. I am not really obsessed with any celebrity, I have lived in LA long enough to see beyond the smoke and mirrors and the pages of People and am really not that fascinated…most of the time.

That said, I do admire her.

I ran into a lovely woman at BlogHer who, upon learning of my little slice of the world wide web here, told me a 10-minute horror story of being at some big event alongside Gwyneth and how she was so snobby, so obnoxious, so…Hollywood. The thing is, I am sure she is. I am sure she can be a bitch. I am sure she is occasionally rude to the guy that gets her coffee. Or impatient with fans and complete strangers. Or, gasp, too thin for your liking.

But she is also a devoted mother to two seemingly very well-adjusted kids. Who can cook. And then rock the most unbelievable gowns on the red carpet that make us drop everything to stare, comment and critique. And then slip into jeans and bring a new level of respect to “effortless chic.” She can find the time – and the people – to give her the best blowouts known to man. But can also sport a messy bun on her way to dropoff, almost, but not quite, like the rest of us. She can keep her marriage closely under wraps, but somehow make us envy it at the same time. She can make you covet everything from her bed sheets to her favorite candles to her nail color. She can, and does, take pride in her relationships with her parents, her brother, her best friends from high school whose names we don’t know. She can sing (whether or not you think she should.) She can bust her butt to make it skinny post-kids and inspire us to do the same. She can act. Well. And seriously, she can cook. And motivated me to do the same, after 33 years of avoiding it and thinking it was simply never going to be my forte, and helped me learn to enjoy the process, the creativity, and the absolute pleasure of providing for my little family in a whole new way.

So, love her or hate her, as a young mother trying to balance it all and more in today’s world, it helps to have someone to admire who, most importantly, also helps you find moments where you admire yourself.

Happy birthday, Gwyneth.

6 Responses
  1. April 13, 2013

    Hi,
    I’ve just discovered your blog. It makes me smile, in the good way, though.
    Concerning this post, I don’t know if she read it but, if I was her, I would probably take all you said for a compliment.
    And as you said in you last post, few days ago after having seen her in William Sonoma, she was nearly crying when she has known that you were the mama-woman who wrote this blog, and as you said, or she was sincere or she deserves an oscar.
    I think, as you, that she could be a bitch (who can’t be?) but I’m sure she’s smarter than that. And, like you, I’m not a fan (not really).
    Continue, I’m becoming a fan of your blog.

    (Sorry for my English, I’m French.)

  2. tait permalink
    April 24, 2013

    Exactly. you have spoken the truth. whether it is spun or not by her PR peeps…I love that she cares about family and cooking (a deathly fear I have but a great desire to learn!) I love that she can not only sing, but rock a mini skirt and own her current moment, self, age, motherhood, celebrity, beauty etc…motherhood is insane and sucks the life out of you (fantastically so…) It’s good to know one can eventually come back to life. Thanks for the inspiration to do it fabulously Gwen.

  3. stella permalink
    September 28, 2013

    Love her and your blog. I really feel like people love to hate her and yet she seems way more down to earth and real than the majority of hollywood stars.

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