Gwyneth Paltrow’s privileged daughter Apple has been at the centre of ‘mean girl’ accusations ever since her appearance at a Parisian debutante’s ball in 2024.

Apple received large amounts of backlash for her dismissive eye rolls and upstaging other debutantes at the ball. Rumours also spread that she was expelled from school for bullying.

After years of staying silent on the matter, Apple finally addressed the bullying claims on Instagram on Monday, calling the allegations ‘completely untrue’.

It seems the Apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree as her famous mother Gwyneth was also called out for her ‘diva’ antics as a young woman.

Apple seemingly learned her ‘mean girl’ behaviour from her lookalike mother, whom was also privy to a luxurious lifestyle most cannot fathom.

The 53-year-old wellness mogul is the daughter of Meet The Parents actress Blythe Danner, 83, and the late director Bruce Paltrow. 

Gwyneth Paltrow’s privileged daughter Apple has been at the centre of ‘mean girl’ accusations ever since her appearance at a Parisian debutante’s ball in 2024 (pictured together in 2025)

It seems the Apple, 21, really doesn’t fall far from the tree as her famous mother Gwyneth, 52, was also called out for her ‘diva’ antics as a young woman 

Growing up with Hollywood royalty meant both Apple and Gwyneth have been exposed to extravagant lifestyles and elite private schools.

The 21-year-old has already landed a slew of high-profile modelling jobs with the help of her Oscar-winning actress mother and Coldplay frontman father Chris Martin.

Behind Gwyneth’s glossy image, there have been plenty of ‘mean girl’ accusations including claims Goop has a ‘toxic culture’, that she mocked her classmates, iced out friends, and once gave Winona Ryder the savage nickname ‘Vagina Ryder’.

Her late father Bruce had also told Gwyneth that young fame had turned her into a bit of a ‘brat’. 

Gwyneth earned global stardom when she won an Oscar at just 26-years-old.

She appeared in a series of Nineties and Noughties blockbusters including The Talented Mr Ripley, Shallow Hal, and The Royal Tenenbaums. 

And it was Gwyneth’s father who she said was a grounding force amidst her rapid rise to fame and indeed informed her that she was become an ‘a**hole’ after her Academy Award win for Shakespeare In Love. 

She told Graham Norton on his BBC chat show: ‘I won an Oscar when I was 26. So, I was really young.

Apple received large amounts of backlash for her dismissive eye rolls and upstaging other debutantes at the ball. Rumours also spread that she was expelled from school for bullying (seen at the ball)

After years of staying silent on the matter, Apple finally addressed the bullying claims on Instagram on Monday, calling the allegations ‘completely untrue’ 

Apple seemingly learned her ‘mean girl’ behaviour from her lookalike mother, whom was also privy to a luxurious lifestyle most cannot fathom

‘I think, my philosophy is that fame is actually not very good for us as people,’ she continued, ‘because everybody starts removing all of your obstacles.

‘And, I think, friction is actually what makes you grow. And so, all of a sudden, I was this pretty young woman and everybody was removing my obstacles…and I think incrementally I started just behaving strangely or a little weird.’

She continued: ‘And my father…he sat me down one day and he said, in his inimitable Brooklyn way, ‘You’re kind of turning into an a**hole.’

Gwyneth credited that conversation with being ‘incredibly important in my life’ because it ‘really burst a bubble’ and brought her back to reality.

The actress was forced to hit back at accusations that the work culture at her wellness brand Goop is ‘toxic’ after author Amy Odell claimed Gwyneth ran a ‘chaotic and sometimes toxic’ workplace that led to mass resignations’.

Gwyneth addressed the allegations in a Vogue interview last year: ‘That bothers me. “Oh, Goop has a toxic culture”. That drives me insane because we have never had that.

‘Granted we’ve had a couple of toxic people and, because of my fear of confrontation, maybe I didn’t deal with it quickly enough. That does cascade down and I totally take responsibility for that,’ she acknowledged.

‘But we are such a good culture. We are. It’s something that I am so proud of and worked so hard on.’ 

Growing up with Hollywood royalty meant both Apple and Gwyneth have been exposed to extravagant lifestyles and elite private schools (Gwyneth pictured with Apple and son Moses)

The wellness mogul is the daughter of Meet The Parents actress Blythe Danner, 83, and the late director Bruce Paltrow (pictured with her parents in 2002)

The model has already landed a slew of high-profile modelling jobs with the help of her Oscar-winning actress mother and Coldplay frontman father Chris Martin

Odell also laid bare Gwyneth’s opulent childhood in Gwyneth: The Biography, by biographer Amy Odell.

In the tome Odell recounted moments from the Goop founder’s childhood, writing that her father Bruce had a penchant for luxury goods – more than mum Blythe – which trickled down to Gwyneth.

‘Bruce was the indulger,’ Odell noted in the book. ‘Blythe the moderating influence.’

Odell said the director and producer, who died in 2002, ‘showed Gwyneth and [her younger brother] Jake a world that would bend to your will if you knew how to ask.’

Meanwhile, the biographer noted that her mother was ‘attuned to fragility, mortality, and the importance of manners.’

Gwyneth moved to New York City with her family when she was 11 years old, in 1984, where she attended the exclusive Spence School. 

The future Academy Award winner moved into a five-story brownstone on the Upper East Side just steps from Central Park as she spent her days with the daughters of some of the country’s most elite – and wealthy – families.

According to Odell, when Bruce flew with his two kids, he booked first-class seats. 

Behind Gwyneth’s glossy image, there have been plenty of ‘mean girl’ accusations including claims Goop has a ‘toxic culture’

Her late father Bruce had also told Gwyneth that young fame had turned her into a bit of a ‘brat’ after she won an Oscar in 1999 (pictured)

‘When Bruce flew with the kids, he booked first-class seats. He would joke that Gwyneth didn’t know how to turn right on an airplane (toward the coach seats),’ the biographer wrote. 

‘Blythe tended to book coach,’ it continued. ‘”You mean — we’re not flying first-class?” Gwyneth would protest. “We’re flying no class?”‘

According to the biography, the Paltrow family were never without a grand vacation or famous dinner guest – suggesting it is a trait Gwyneth picked up from her father.

‘[Bruce] liked to ski in Aspen with his family and his buddies during the winter, and, unsatisfied with the dining options, convinced Gordon Naccarato, a chef at Michael’s in Los Angeles, to move there and open a restaurant, writing him a $125,000 check,’ the biography reported.

So it’s no surprise Gwyneth has wanted to give her childhood the wealthy upbringing she too grew up with. 

Odell also revealed Gwyneth was once close friends with Winona but grew to despise her after suspecting her of fabricating stories for attention. 

At the time, Gwyneth was dating Ben Affleck and Winona was dating his best friend, Matt Damon – making the two couples a Hollywood power foursome until the actress’s friendship with the pair soured. 

According to Odell, Gwyneth also harbored disdain for Damon’s co-star Minnie Driver, believing that the English actress had an ‘air of faux British aristocracy’. 

After organizing a birthday party for Driver in 1997, Gwyneth is alleged to have rolled her eyes and made a vomiting gesture when the actress wasn’t looking, the book states. 

According to the book, following an argument between Winona and then-boyfriend Damon, Winona left their New York apartment to say she had been robbed.

Then Winona left the home a second time, came back and claimed she had been robbed again.

While Damon was sympathetic, Gwyneth was convinced it was a ploy for attention and from there, the friendship deteriorated.

‘Damon consoled her but Gwyneth and Affleck believed Ryder fabricated the robberies as a ploy for attention (there’s no proof of this),’ the book states. 

‘Gwyneth was annoyed that Damon couldn’t see it. Though Damon was kind to her friends, Gwyneth didn’t seem to like him after that.

‘Her friendship with Winona would only deteriorate further, and Gwyneth gave her the nickname “Vagina Ryder”.’ 

Apple – who has a younger brother Moses – will graduate from Vanderbilt University in May with a degree in law, history and society. 

While she was once determined to forge her own path being a student and having a normal life, but it looks like she is following her famous mother’s footsteps after all. 

She told Vogue in an episode of Beauty Secrets: ‘I love dancing and I love acting. My dream is to act.’

So it’s no surprise Gwyneth has wanted to give her childhood the wealthy upbringing she too grew up with (pictured together in 2013)

Apple – who has a younger brother Moses – will graduate from Vanderbilt University in May with a degree in law, history and society

She also told Interview magazine in April, ‘I would love to do theater because I adore it so much. I’ve obviously never done film before, but I’ve been trying to get involved in student films. I was born a theater kid.’ 

Apple, who became brand ambassador for Self-Portrait starting in September 2025, looks to Paltrow for fashion inspiration.

‘My mom’s wardrobe from her 20s is just about my favorite thing in the entire world,’ she said. ‘It makes me emotional thinking about the things in that closet.’

Apple was forced to dismiss rumours that she was expelled from school for bullying this week. 

She wrote: ‘Hi! I didn’t wanna respond but this narrative is completely false and has gotten so out of hand,’ she explained in a message to an unnamed account.

‘I have never been expelled from any school, especially not for bullying anyone,’ she added.

‘I completely understand ppl not liking me and that is okay! The internet is a place where ppl can share their opinions,’ Martin went on.

‘But this rumor is completely untrue, I am not that type of person and anyone who is close to me knows that ❤️.’ 

In 2024, Apple faced bullying accusations after a video showed her seemingly attempting to crash a fellow debutante’s photo shoot and roll her eyes at her date at the Le Bal des Debutantes in Paris.

Afterwards, a source close to Paltrow told DailyMail.com that her daughter is a ‘girls’ girl’ not a ‘mean girl’.

‘Apple’s more playful and fun and she’s really a total girls’ girl,’ the source said.

‘She would never mean to take the spotlight from anyone, that was not her intention. To characterise her as a mean girl is very untrue.

‘She really had such a wonderful evening and I feel bad that this is even taking away from that because it was such an uplifting evening for her and the other girls.’

The Vanderbilt student went viral over footage said to show her making a brazen play for a photographer’s attention while another attendee had her photo taken.

Later, Apple was snapped rolling her eyes at date Count Leo Cosima Henckel von Donnersmarck.

But the source insisted to DailyMail.com that Apple has a ‘good rapport’ with her aristocratic escort.

‘They had cameras on them all day long and they were playing around,’ they said.

‘It was in total jest and once again, not snarky, not anything negative.’