The 1999 Oscars ceremony was one of the most controversial in the history of the awards, including Gwyneth Paltrow‘s victory for Best Actress. One of her best drama movies, Shakespeare in Love, went on to win Best Picture ahead of Saving Private Ryan – one of the best Steven Spielberg movies ever.
Paltrow found herself at the centre of criticism in the wake of the surprise result, which saw her awarded ahead of some of the best actors in Hollywood including Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett.
“I remember winning and feeling like the tide sort of turned and there was this feeling of when you have that much attention on you and that much energy, it was really, really overwhelming,” the star told People.
In fact, Paltrow was so overwhelmed by the attention and the criticism that she fled from it all for a few weeks.
She said: “I remember I was staying with my parents at their house in Santa Monica and I just kind of hid for three weeks afterward. It was so intense. Lonely is the right word, it was really strange.
“It was the weirdest most surreal time. You’re also kind of embarrassed that you’re nominated for an Oscar and you have imposter syndrome and you think: ‘I can’t even believe this is happening. I’m not even that good. Does everybody hate me?'”
Paltrow told the Call Her Daddy podcast this week that she “could feel a real turn” in the reaction to her after her big win, especially in the British press.
She added: “I was 26. I cried and people were so mean about it and I just thought: ‘Wow there’s this big energy shift that’s happening. I think I’m going to have to learn to be less open-hearted and much more protective of myself and filter people out better’.”
Paltrow has since gone on to appear in some of her best movies, including several MCU movies as Pepper Potts. She has not yet been nominated for another Oscar.
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