Gwyneth hopes for Spanish simple life

Gwyneth Paltrow is famed for her love of healthy living and hatred of the limelight - and now she has revealed that she hopes to turn her back on the celebrity circuit for the "simple life" in Spain. The Hollywood star has spoken for the first time about her plans to build a five-acre Spanish hideaway where she, husband Chris Martin, of Coldplay, and their baby daughter Apple can escape London and New York. "At this point in my life I am craving space, air, cleanliness," she said. "I want to be able to see sky. I want solitude and you just don't get that in New York." Paltrow was given land near the city

of Talavera de la Reina, south-west of Madrid, as a Christmas present from the Spanish couple she calls her second mother and father.

Jesus Lazaro Cano and Julia Ruiz Blanco took Paltrow in as a 15-year-old exchange student and she is now considered part of the family. The couple call her by the affectionate nickname Winnie and she calls them Mama and Papa.

In an exclusive interview and photoshoot with her Spanish "family" near the site of her dream home, Paltrow said: "I already come here four times a year because it's the farthest from Hollywood you can get."

The actress, who celebrates her 32nd birthday today, said: "The way the Spanish live is really healthy. Everybody eats a clean Mediterranean diet. They come home from work and have a leisurely lunch with their families, then take a nap. They go back and work until 8pm, then go out and dance all night. The simpler things are, the happier they are."

Paltrow tells InStyle magazine: "They love each other, they love to dance, drink wine, to be together and sing. They're inspiring." While living with Julia and Jesus, she was grounded after staying out dancing past her curfew. "I started crying, saying, 'Please, oh please, let me go - I'll be good,'" she says. "When Papa was softening, (his son) Jesus Junior leaned over and whispered in my ear, 'You're going to win an Oscar one day'." The prophesy came true in 1999 when she won an Academy Award for her performance in Shakespeare In Love.

But despite her movie success, she has no time for the trappings of fame. "Life is so short and precious you should do things that make you feel inspired, that push you and teach you something," she said. "I'd rather not have a big house, a huge closet of clothes, diamonds and a private plane. I feel my thirties are about taking care of the way I've decided I want to live - being true to myself."

Last night Paltrow was at her first London premiere since the birth of fivemonthold Apple. She was at the Empire, Leicester Square, with her co-star Jude Law to promote the new sci-fi thriller Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow.

She had advice for new mothers: "Do yoga after the birth to keep your cool and get your figure back. I've just been spending as much time as I can with Apple, too, singing to her and carrying her around a lot. I think that's very important for the mother-baby bond."

The full interview appears in the November issue of InStyle, out on 1 October.