Gwyneth Kate Paltrow

In 2008, she appeared in Iron Man as Pepper Potts, Stark's closest friend, budding love interest, and business partner after Pepper replaced Obadiah Stane as CEO of Stark Industries. The film is her largest grossing movie ever, earning more than US$ 585 million at the worldwide box office. Paltrow said she was hesitant to appear in a big-budget project but she was won over by Robert Downey Jr., the film's lead, and director Jon Favreau. Paltrow recalled a conversation with Downey, saying:
“Robert called me and he said, 'This is gonna be fun, and this is gonna be good.' And then he said to me, 'Don't you want to be in a movie that people see?' And I was like, 'Whoa! What would that feel like?' And he's right. Moviemaking is not supposed to be a masturbatory exercise; it's supposed to be shared by other people.”
In 2010, she reprised her role in the sequel to Iron Man, Iron Man 2. Later in 2010, she appeared in the country musical, Country Strong, where she also recorded the song Country Strong for the films' soundtrack. The song was released to country radio in August 2010. Paltrow will next shoot for Steven Soderbergh's virus thriller Contagion, in which she is part of an ensemble cast. She also appeared in Fox's Glee, as a substitute teacher who fills in for Matthew Morrison's character Will when he falls ill. She sang "Nowadays" from the musical Chicago with Lea Michele, Cee Lo Green's "Forget You", plus a mash-up of "Singin' In the Rain" and Rihanna's "Umbrella" with Morrison, Mark Salling and Chris Colfer in the episode.