Friday, June 19, 2026

Congresswoman Gifford’s Hollywood Connection to Paltrows

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While everyone is praying for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords‘ speedy recovery, I can tell you that, yes, she does have a Hollywood connection.

Gabrielle Giffords‘ grandmother and Gwyneth Paltrow‘s late grandfather were brother and sister. That makes Gabrielle’s father, Spencer Giffords, and Gwyneth’s late director-producer father, Bruce Paltrow, first cousins.

Technically, Gabrielle and Gwyneth would be first cousins once removed. Or maybe second cousins.

In any case, it’s quite a family of achievers– a Congresswoman and an Oscar winner — nothing to sneeze at, as they say.

Giffords, like Gwyneth, is half Jewish on her father’s side. She’s also the first Jewish congresswoman from Arizona.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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