Winona Ryder had vicious Hollywood feud over ‘stolen’ script
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Today, October 29, 2022, is the 50th birthday of Winona Ryder. The extraordinary Hollywood star has wowed her fans across the last few decades starring in gorgeous gothic flicks such as Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, before also turning her hand to such dramas as Little Women and Autumn in New York. But, along the way, she has made some enemies. None have been a bigger issue for Winona than the Iron Man star Gwyneth Paltrow.
Ryder and Paltrow became fast friends in the 1990s after the Hollywood press dubbed them the “it” girls of the decade.
After her whirlwind relationship with Johnny Depp came to an end in 1993, Ryder started partying with Paltrow – who, at the time had made a name for herself in such films as Seven and Emma.
By the mid-1990s they were great pals – but everything was about to change.
It all fell apart when it was reported that Ryder was up for the role of Viola de Lesseps in the 1998 romantic drama Shakespeare in Love. Disaster soon struck after an underhanded act reportedly occurred in Ryder’s home.
The story goes that Paltrow reportedly went to Ryder’s house to hang out, before seeing the Shakespeare in Love script on her table.
Varying reports claim Paltrow either “stole the script” or contacted her agent later on and made them get her an audition for the same role.
Whichever event happened, Paltrow was successful in grabbing the role. And to make matters worse, the film was so widely adored that it won seven Oscars – including a Best Actress gong for Paltrow.
Of course, this sneaky act meant that Ryder and Paltrow were no longer friends and quickly fell out. Years later, she denied doing anything wrong to Ryder.
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Paltrow reportedly continued: “This person really did what they could to hurt me. I was deeply upset, I was angry, I was all of those things you feel when you find out that someone you thought you liked was venomous and dangerous. I restrained myself from fighting back. I tried to take the high road.”
The actress then added some key details which may have revealed she was talking about Ryder all along.
She wrote: “But one day I heard that something unfortunate and humiliating had happened to this person. And my reaction was deep relief and… happiness. There went the high road.”
This specific newsletter was released just a few years after Ryder was arrested in 2001 for shoplifting.
The Stranger Things star was convicted for nabbing $5,000 worth of designer clothes from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills.
She later opened up about the incident, saying: “Psychologically, I must have been at a place where I just wanted to stop. I won’t get into what happened, but it wasn’t what people think. And it wasn’t like the crime of the century!”
Paltrow later revealed, in 2015, that she had not spoken to Ryder for “years”.