Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow has disclosed a frightening health episode in London where she refrained from calling an ambulance because she was unaware of the UK's emergency services number.
A Night of Fear in a London Hotel
The 53-year-old Oscar winner explained that her wellbeing deteriorated severely following the death of her father, Bruce Paltrow, in 2002. The profound grief culminated in a terrifying night where she woke up convinced she was suffering a heart attack. However, staying in a London hotel at the time, she did not know to dial 999, the British emergency number, instead of the American 911.
Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, Paltrow recounted the ordeal. "I felt like I was going to die of grief," she said. "There was one night where I woke up and I thought I was having a heart attack in London. And the only reason I didn't call an ambulance was 'cos I didn't know it's 999 [in Britain] not 911."
Channeling Grief into Art and Life Changes
In the wake of her father's passing, Paltrow took on the role of tragic poet Sylvia Plath in the 2003 film Sylvia. She credits this project with helping her process the immense sorrow. "It kind of saved my life," she expressed, describing acting as a tool to "metabolise and get stuff out." The structured routine of filming provided a crucial outlet for her emotions during that period.
It was shortly after this loss that she met Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. The couple subsequently moved to Britain together, where they started a family. They welcomed two children: daughter Apple, now 21, and son Moses, 19. Their marriage lasted ten years before ending in 2014.
The Fallout from 'Conscious Uncoupling'
The actress famously described their split as a "consciously uncoupling," a term that sparked significant public debate and controversy. Paltrow has now revealed that this backlash had a direct professional cost. She told Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast that she was dropped from a film project because the distributor felt the situation was "too hot to touch."
She acknowledged understanding why the terminology angered some, particularly those who had endured acrimonious divorces. "Say you'd had a really nasty divorce or your parents had a nasty divorce and then you hear, it doesn't have to be done this way," she said, reflecting on the personal nature of the public's reaction.
Despite the challenges, Paltrow's candid revelations highlight a difficult chapter of her life, marked by personal loss, a frightening health scare abroad, and the very public navigation of a marriage breakdown.
