What you need to know
The Grand Ole Opry is celebrating its 100th anniversary with special performances from country music stars and surprise guests, including Gwyneth Paltrow.
The Oscar-winning actress, 53, wowed the crowd at the Nashville venue on Thursday, Nov. 20, when she took to the stage with country singer Holly Williams and Williams’ husband, musician Chris Coleman.
Williams, 44, invited his Shakespearean actress on stage and said, “Guys, can you believe your good fortune? You’re used to guests in Nashville, but you’re not used to guests in Oscar-winning Hollywood.” The trio then sang Williams’ 2013 song “Drinkin’.”
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Afterward, Williams told the crowd: “Can you believe it? Isn’t it frustrating that they can do anything and go out looking like that? They look really good.”
Williams went on to say that she “had the honor of meeting” Paltrow many years ago, and that it was then that she heard her “secret voice” and “fell in love.”
The trio then performed “Waiting on June,” which Williams said is about her mother’s parents, who were farmers in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, and “taught (her) everything that’s really important in life, what’s really important.”
Paltrow and Williams have a long history. Paltrow, who played and sang as a country music star in the 2010 film Country Strong, made her debut performance on live television at the CMAs that same year.
When discussing “Country Strong,” the Goop founder also named Williams, the granddaughter of country music icon Hank Williams, as one of his favorite country artists. “I was really into Loretta Lynn and Dolly[Parton]and a lot of the new women, like Miranda[Lambert]and[Hilary Scott]and Lady Antebellum. I love her voice,” Paltrow told The Boot in 2012. “And I love Holly Williams records. I love that kind of old-school, soulful country. When you hear pain in a woman’s voice, that’s women.” We really connected. ”
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Paltrow and Holly have maintained a friendship over the years. In 2020, Williams revealed that she and Paltrow are mom friends. Holly and Coleman share Stella June Coleman, Lily May, Arlo and Georgia Grace, while Paltrow has Apple, 21, and son Moses, 19, with ex-husband Coldplay singer Chris Martin, 48.
“We became friends four or five years ago and went on a summer beach trip together. She had a chalk board with her kids’ names and a point system written on it,” Holly told PEOPLE in 2020, adding, “It was a genius idea and I thought I’d try it too.” I’m lucky to have a wonderful girlfriend like Gwyneth and other women who are patient with my children. And I’m lucky to have a mother who is patient and loving. It’s all been great for me.
