Gwyneth Paltrow Clarifies She Doesn’t Use Her Oscar as Doorstop

Gwyneth Paltrow is setting the record straight on whether she uses her Oscar as a doorstop.

“That was just for a stupid Vogue video,” Paltrow, 53, recently said on Entertainment Weekly‘s “The Awardist” podcast. “They’re like, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to use your Oscar as a doorstop?’ And then of course, as you know [it became legend].”

Paltrow took home the coveted award in 1999 for her work as Viola De Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love, a win she explained has left her with complicated feelings.

“I think it was weird, because it was such a huge and pivotal moment, and it’s one of those things where you are kind of like this person that people are excited about and are building up,” she explained. “And then, in one fell swoop, it’s too much. You’re not an underdog anymore…. The tenor changed. It was just a lot to hold as a 26-year-old.”

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In 2023, Paltrow made headlines when she filmed a Vogue 73 Questions interview and propped open a door in her garden with the award.

“What a beautiful Academy Award,” interviewer Joe Sabia said in the video, while Paltrow replied, “My doorstop. It works perfectly!”

In reality, however, Paltrow shared on the podcast that she keeps the award on a bookshelf “hiding behind a door” — but has recently moved it to “a bookshelf with other stuff on it.”

“I think I had, I don’t know. … I think I had a bit of healing to do, in terms of how I held that and everything that happened and happened after it,” she said. “It was a lot to metabolize. And so it took me, I guess 25 years to be like, ‘OK, I’m ready to put this on the bookshelf.’”

Paltrow explained that it took her years to be able to watch herself in the film, until a pivotal moment with husband Brad Falchuk. (Paltrow and Falchuk tied the knot in 2018.)

“It’s funny because my husband was actually watching it maybe six months ago on TV. It was just on, and I came in and I was like … I’m always like, ‘Oh God, change it,’” she recalled, before reflecting, “I was so young and I looked so different.”

She continued, “It was the first time I was actually able to watch it in a long time. I didn’t watch the whole movie, but I watched a couple of scenes and I was like, ‘You know what? This stands the test of time. I’m really proud of my work. I’m really proud of this film. It’s a perfect screenplay … I don’t know. It was just kind of like a nice moment.”

Now, Paltrow is starring in Marty Supreme — her first major acting role in years. After she signed on to the film, Paltrow admitted she felt jitters.

“I said yes, and then I was like, ‘Oh f***, do I remember how to do this?’ It had been seven years,” she recalled in a December 2025 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “But I didn’t get the bug back until I was on set doing the hair-and-makeup test. That’s when I was like, ‘Oh, what is this weird feeling I’m having? Oh, my God, this is excitement. I’m actually really excited to be here.’”

Marty Supreme is in theaters now.