Celebrity Mound

Gwyneth Paltrow is a cousin of the congresswoman who was wounded in Saturday’s shooting that killed six people in Arizona.

Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is the first cousin of director Bruce Paltrow, who is the late father of “Country Strong” actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

“One Tree Hill” actress Sophia Bush also has a connection to the shooting. According to a Us Weekly report, Bush is the second cousin of Christina Green, the 9-year-old who was killed in the rampage.

Bush wrote on Twitter on Sunday that “there are no words to explain what my cousin’s family is going through in Arizona.”

Gwyneth Paltrow told Entertainment Tonight that she has never met Giffords but her “thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.”

Gwyneth Paltrow, the 38-year-old American actress who plays an alcoholic singer-songwriter in her new movie ‘Country Strong’, has admitted to being drunk on the film’s set, reports Marie Claire Magazine. Paltrow says she drank early in the morning in order to get into character throughout the day.

‘Country Strong’, set in Nashville, also stars Leighton Meester and sees Paltrow playing ‘Kelly Canter’ a down-and-out musician who leaves rehab and hits the road with her husband and manager. The actress has revealed that her method acting involved drinking ‘Bloody Mary’ cocktails before shooting a scene, adding, “At least I did anyway, it’s not very professional”. The wife of Coldplay singer Chris Martin is being tipped for a 2011 OSCAR nomination for her performance as Canter but the actress admits the role was easier to play than it looked, saying, “You just get really drunk all the time. Which is awesome!”.

The movie is Paltrow’s first starring role since the 2005 movie ‘Proof’, however, she did make appearances in Iron Man in 2008 and last year’s Iron Man sequel. She received a standing ovation at last year’s CMA Awards for her first live musical performance.

Gwyneth Paltrow struggled to master the guitar for her role as a washed-up country singer in new film COUNTRY STRONG and at one point convinced herself she had cancer.

The actress admits she found playing the instrument difficult and when she started suffering cramps, shoulder and finger pain she feared for her health and asked her doctor for help.

She says, “My fingers wouldn’t respond to the signals my brain was giving them. I thought, ‘I must have all these atrophied muscles in my fingers!’

“I had bleeding fingers and cramps in my hands and shoulder problems. I was like, ‘I think I have cancer!’”

She felt stupid when she learned the truth: “I went to the doctor and I had just pulled a muscle in my arm. It was a disaster. What a nerd!”

Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow is to make her debut as a country music singer next month at the Country Music Awards, ABC television and the Country Music Association said on Wednesday.

Paltrow, who first showed off her vocal talents in the 2000 movie “Duets”, will perform the title song from her upcoming movie “Country Strong”, in which she plays a fallen country star.

Paltrow will be joined in her November 10 live performance at the Country Music Awards in Nashville by Vince Gill. “Country Strong” which also stars Tim McGraw is due to open in U.S. theaters in late December.

Paltrow, 38, who is married to Coldplay front man Chris Martin, is also due to take a guest role in TV musical comedy “Glee”. The actress will play a substitute teacher who falls for high school choir leader Will Schuester and is expected to sing 3 or 4 solos in an episode airing in mid-November.

Paltrow won an Oscar for her performance in the 1998 movie “Shakespeare in Love.”