Gwyneth Paltrow is ringing in the big 5-0 in the most Gwyneth way of all — by stripping down to her birthday suit. The actress and Goop founder shared a break-the-internet-level photo on Instagram in celebration of her 50th birthday on Sept. 27 posing nude while covered in glistening gold body paint.
She captioned the photo, “⭐️50⭐️” and her wellness brand Goop shared a few more pics of the star writing, “There are birthday suits and then there are *birthday suits*. Happy 50th birthday, GP.”
Many of her famous friends commented on the post. Michelle Pfeiffer left a heart emoji while Naomi Watts wrote, “Yes mama ⚡️⚡️⚡️happy birthday QUEEN🙌🙌🙌.” Reese Witherspoon said, “Oh YES to this !! 💫☀️✨” And Eva Longoria summed it up with, “Wow wow wow.”
Ali Wentworth joked, “Yes! That is exactly what I looked like when I turned 50! Happy Birthday you stunning human!”
“All I know is that they’re painting me gold and that I have to be naked,” Paltrow told Goop ahead of her gold-themed birthday shoot. “I feel so good turning 50, and this is about expressing that sense of energy and optimism that I’m experiencing. It’s more about the female gaze and just a sense of fun.”
Makeup artist Lottie covered the Goop founder with GOOPGENES face cream, eye cream, lip balm and body butter before piling on the gold powder. “I have never felt so moisturized,” Paltrow said.
The star didn’t quite answer whether or not this would be her last nude shoot, but she mused on growing older saying, “I think aging is actually a beautiful thing. We just need to open our perceptions. As you become more yourself, in integrity, your life really opens up.”
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The new birthday pics come a few days after the actress shared another photo in celebration of her birthday. Over the weekend, she posted a snap of herself leaping through the air wearing a string bikini. “Musings on a milestone,” she captioned the post, nudging her followers to check out the article she wrote on the subject of turning 50 published on Goop’s website. In the essay, she opened up about how it felt leading up to her birthday and reflected on how she feels both mentally and physically. She called her body “a map of the evidence of all the days, is less timeless. A collection of marks and irregularities that dog-ear the chapters.”
While she says she strives to keep herself healthy and strong, she has a mantra to keep focused: “I accept. I accept the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles. I accept my body and let go of the need to be perfect, look perfect, defy gravity, defy logic, defy humanity. I accept my humanity.”
She also touched on what she hopes comes next after her milestone birthday, including the ability to slow down and “retreat a little bit.”
“I would like to make my circle smaller,” she continued. “I would like to cook dinner more. I would like to see misunderstandings become understandings. I would like to continue to open the deepest part of myself to my husband, even though it scares me. I would like to sing more, even if it’s just in the shower. I would like to tell anyone that had a negative experience with me that I am sorry. I would like to fully acknowledge myself. I am imperfect, I can shut down and turn to ice, I have no patience, I swear at other drivers, I don’t close my closet doors, I lie when I don’t want to hurt feelings. I am also generous and funny. I am smart and brave. I am a searcher, and I can bring you along on my quest for meaning. When I love you, you will feel it encompass you through time and space and till the end of the earth. I am all of it.”
If a gold-themed birthday suit marked 50, we can’t wait to see what her 60th has in store.
