Gwyneth's New Life

After a year off, the Oscar winner is back to work – but still devoted to her rock-star husband and, of course, little Apple. By Emily Fromm with Mark Dagostino, Pete Norman and Devon Thomas

BEHIND THE SCENES

Paltrow recently took on a new role: director. She co-helmed Dealbreaker, a 10-minute short film about the reasons a young woman dumps her boyfriends. ''I think I'm very sensitive to the actor's perspective,'' Paltrow (in New York City on Aug. 5) told the The New York Times about her instincts as an auteur. "I've worked on 30 films so I think I've learned a lot about filmmaking through osmosis.''