Oscar-winning actor Gwyneth Paltrow has said that she would like for her media company Goop to live on without her, and be a brand that works minus her name or involvement.
"My dream is that one day for people to say: 'Wait, did Gwyneth Paltrow have something to do with that company?' That the company really becomes a global brand that's a truly modern lifestyle brand, with (a) wellness focus. It's why I didn't call it 'Gwyneth Paltrow'. I really wanted to create a brand that would stand on its own," she told an audience of media executives Tuesday.
"It's always something we are thinking about - when am I leveraging my personal self for the brand - and I think we are making a lot of progress and the brand is getting big, very big, and it would be my dream to not have to be the face of it," she added.
It might be easy to mock Goop – Paltrow's first "In Goop Health" wellness event was held in Los Angeles earlier this month, to some ridicule in the press – but it's undeniable that people are buying into her, and the "wellness" industry is said to be a $3.7 trillion market by the Global Wellness Institute. That event attracted a premium price, charging people $500 to $1,500 each to attend, while Paltrow is working with U.S. Vogue editor Anna Wintour to launch a glossy print version of Goop.
Commenting on her move from actor to media owner, Paltrow told attendees at an event at The Girls' Lounge, held during the Cannes Lions advertising festival, that she'd had to have grit and perseverance to make the change.
"I've had a lot of moments where I'm thinking 'why the f--- am I doing this?' It has become about holding on to my vision and being undeterred from it. It's really interesting being a woman who has shifted from one public facing image that people were comfortable with, into something else that people are not comfortable with."
Paltrow also called Goop one of the hardest things she has done in her career.
"We are growing really quickly, things are great, but there is constant push back from the status quo, from society as it is and we still live in a very patriarchal society that's very controlled by capitalism. And sometimes my voice is an irritant in that and me encouraging women to take autonomy for themselves is like a problem, but I feel like we are trying to do something important."