Gwyneth Paltrow says uses her “Shakespeare in Love” Oscar as a doorstop

Out of all the places to put an Academy Award of Merit — the little golden man trophy sometimes called simply an “Oscar” — Gwyneth Paltrow uses hers prop her door open in her California home. The eccentric celebrity and founder of the lifestyle brand Goop showed Vogue in its 73 Questions web series that she uses the 1999 best actress statuette for “Shakespeare in Love” as a doorstop in her lush garden. She told the cameraman, “My doorstop,” she said casually of the Academy Award. “It works perfectly.”

In 2005, the actress shared that she kept the prestigious film award “tucked away at the back of the bookshelf in my bedroom because it weirds me out.” Paltrow was only 26 when she won the award for best actress and her now late father, Bruce Paltrow, had been severely ill around her win and the response to her win was “mean,” she said.

“For weeks after I won I kept it in storage,” she said. “I won’t even put it on the mantlepiece, the thing freaks me out.” She said it was difficult to “feel really good about it” and that she was “sort of embarrassed.” The award “brings up weird, traumatic feelings” because she associates it with a “tough time” in her life.