Gwyneth Paltrow: Mum's the Word

Being a mum obviously agrees with Gwyneth Paltrow. In person, she is radiant -- her skin flawless, glowing and gently tanned... Her newly curvaceous figure is highlighted in all black with a formfitting pencil skirt and a flattering cap-sleeve blouse. Her accessories are unfussy: On one hand she wears her wedding ring (she married Coldplay musician Chris Martin, 27, in a famously secret ceremony last December), on the other, a simple, yet funky, pearl-colored oversize ring.

She sips tea from a plain takeout cup while gamely fielding questions on the media, yoga and the strange circles she sported on her back this summer (from the Chinese alternative medicine called cupping). She chatters excitedly about how she convinced her close friend Stella McCartney to design costumes for her latest film. And she absolutely bubbles over when talking about "the most divine thing in the world" -- daughter Apple, born in May, who she affectionately calls Pomme, the French word for apple.

The 31-year-old daughter of actress Blythe Danner and producer/director Bruce Paltrow (who passed away in 2002), began her career with a small role in Shout (1991), and then appeared later that year as Wendy in Steven Spielberg's Hook. She made a few somewhat notable films after that (Flesh and Bone, Malice), but it was her relationship with sexy superstar Brad Pitt, who she met while filming Se7en (1995), that catapulted her to fame? initially. She went on to earn acclaim for her flawless British accent in Emma and appeared in a number of less notable films such as Jefferson in Paris and Moonlight and Valentino. But it wasn't until her Oscar-winning performance in 1998's Shakespeare in Love that Paltrow became better known for her acting than her boyfriends (who have included Ben Affleck, Luke Wilson and Donovan Leitch in addition to ex-fiancé Pitt). Who can forget her tearful acceptance speech -- and her sweet, yet unfortunately ill-fitting, pink Ralph Lauren gown?