The world first laid eyes on the woman who was to become one of Hollywood's A-list actresses, not more than 5 years ago.

Big made her way into the public eye in photos and public appearances, but always at Brad Pitt's side, and when people asked about the statuesque blonde, people would respond with not more than, "The daughter of Blythe Danner and Bruce Paltrow." No longer with Brad and no longer just the daughter of a powerful Hollywood couple, Gwyneth has gone on to become Hollywood's princess.

Gwyneth Kate Paltrow was born September 28, 1972, in Los Angeles, California. Raised in the City of Angels and the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and television producer and director Bruce Paltrow, it was no surprise that the blue-eyed blonde would pursue an acting career.

The Paltrows moved to Manhattan, New York when Gwyneth was 11 years old, where she would watch her Tony award-winning mother perform at theatre festivals.

While mother Blythe was performing in summer stock theatre in Berkshires, Massachusetts, Gwyneth came along and became more than an audience member; she began to participate, and even co-starred with her mother in a couple of productions. After making her debut starring role in a production of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, she knew that acting was exactly what she was meant to do.

Gwyneth returned to Los Angeles in order to attend the University of California in Santa Barbara as an art history major. The aspiring actress traded in her textbooks and classroom lectures for the dream of becoming a fulltime actress.

While her first film role was in the 1991 film Shout, with John Travolta, her big break came along when she went out one night with her father and family friends Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw Big league director Spielberg was in the process of casting for his film Hook and that night, he offered Gwyneth the role of Wendy, which she instantly accepted.

After her role in Hook, also starring Robin Williams and Julia Roberts she was cast as the lead in the 1992 mini-series Cruel Doubt, while her mother was offered a co-starring role, albeit after Gwyneth received the part.

The budding actress' resume was soon filling up, with roles in Malice, Flesh and Bone, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Jefferson in Paris, and Moonlight and Valentino.

Although audiences were beginning to take notice of Gwyneth, the film that threw her into the spotlight was her role as Brad Pitt's girlfriend in the thriller Seven, which is where the highly photogenic couple met and fell in love.

Gwyneth's star was on the rise but she decided to opt for roles in smaller, less mainstream films rather than the big-budget blockbusters. She co-starred with David Schwimmer in 1996's The Pallbearer and that same year took on the title role in the comedy Emma. Next up were Hard Eight and Great Expectations, where she shone. Unfortunately, not many people caught her performance.

While movies such as Hush and Knock-off may not have given Gwyneth the chance to show off her acting abilities, the film Sliding Doors made up for this. In the film, where she portrays the leading lady in two different versions of herself, she had practically fooled everyone into thinking that she was British, reprising the British accent she used in Emma. Rounding off a busy 1998, Gwyneth co-starred with Michael Douglasin A Perfect Murder. This was an odd match since Douglas, who was cast as Gwyneth's husband, is really a friend of her parents. Although most of her female counterparts were portraying younger characters in teen movies, Gwyneth was being cast and choosing to play older, more mature characters.

Then came the role that turned Gwyneth from actress to Academy Award Winner. She played an aspiring stage actress, who was forced to disguise herself as a male since the stage was no place for a woman in Elizabethan times.

She took home the 1999 Academy Award for Best Actress, thanks to her impeccable British accent and her excellent portrayal as Shakespeare's cross dressing love interest.

After a brief hiatus, Gwyneth returned to the big-screen in top form in the beautifully shot The Talented Mr. Ripley, as Jude Law's good-hearted girlfriend.

Jennifer Aniston may now be Mrs. Pitt, but that doesn't mean that Gwynnie was lonely. She has since been romantically linked with her Shakespeare in Love co-star Ben Affleck and Scott Speedman

The actress who stole Hollywood's heart more than once will soon be seen in Duets, as well as Bounce and The Intern, where she appears as herself.