Gwyneth Paltrow says 'doing cocaine and not getting caught' was why the 90s were 'great'

Gwyneth Paltrow has reflected on life in the 1990s – a decade she says was ‘great’, joking that it was all because you could do cocaine and not get caught.

Paltrow, now 50, rose to fame in the 90s, thanks to early roles in the likes of Seven (1995) and Emma (1996) - finding her stride with trio of hits in 1998: Sliding Doors, Perfect Murder and Shakespeare in Love, which won her a number of awards.

The following year, she also featured in The Talented Mr Ripley alongside Matt Damon and Jude Law, before she kicked off the next era with The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and Shallow Hal (2001).

Off-screen, she was also hitting headlines for her high profile dating life, having dated Brad Pitt between 1995 and 1997 – at one point getting engaged but later calling it off – and Ben Affleck from 1997 to 1999, briefly rekindling their romance after starring in Bounce together.

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These days, she’s busy with her lifestyle brand Goop, while also juggling responsibilities as mum to her two kids with ex-husband Chris Martin.

But that’s not stopping her reminisce on the good old days, having spoken about the famously hedonistic decade on The Late Late Show with James Corden, where she was joined on the sofa by Hilary Swank.

Corden asked the pair what it was like being 'so famous' at a time when there was no social media, 'no nothing'.

"What was it like - I can imagine it was amazing?" he posed.

Paltrow replied: “It was great. I mean, talk about doing cocaine and not getting caught!

“Like, you could just be at a bar and be, like, having fun, dance on a table... no camera phones."

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She added: "Especially in New York, interestingly enough, there were no paparazzi.

“You could stumble out of a bar and go home with some rando and no one would know.”

Paltrow also spoke about the 'empty nest' she's facing now that deliciously named daughter Apple has gone to college, saying she's not dealing with it 'very well'.

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"It's a huge change, because she's really hilarious and she's got a big presence," she said of Apple.

As for teenage son Moses, she continued: "When we're round the dinner table now, somebody comes over to Moses and says, 'You know, what is it like with your sister not home?'

"And he's like, 'Quiet.'"

As the others said 'Aww!' in sympathy, Paltrow added: "I know!"