Gwyneth Paltrow lands first lead film role in over a decade

Gwyneth Paltrow has cemented her acting comeback with her first lead movie role in more than a decade.

The Oscar-winning actress, who made her comeback last year with a supporting role in Marty Supreme, has lined up her first starring role since 2010's Country Strong.

Paltrow will star and executive produce the film adaptation of Belle Burden's best-selling novel Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage.

Stacey Sher, who previously worked with Paltrow on Contagion, will produce the movie, while Heidi Schreck will adapt the book for the screen. A director has yet to be announced.

The film found its home at Netflix after officials at the streaming service won a bidding war for the rights to the book, which was published in January.

Burden's memoir begins with the writer happily living with her family in Martha's Vineyard, an island in Massachusetts, at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Her world is turned upside down when, without warning or explanation, her husband of 20 years suddenly announces he's leaving her.

After Country Strong, the Sliding Doors actress stepped back from acting to focus on raising her two children and launching her lifestyle brand Goop.

Throughout the 2010s, she made appearances as Pepper Potts in Marvel films including Iron Man 2 and 3, The Avengers, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.

Outside of the MCU, she appeared in films such as 2011's Contagion, 2012's Thanks for Sharing, 2015's Mortdecai and TV shows including Glee and The Politician.

While promoting Marty Supreme in December, Paltrow told The Hollywood Reporter that there had been an increase in incoming calls about screen projects, but she was unsure if she wanted to be a full-time actress again.

"I thought about a couple of things, but timing-wise, I have a lot to manage with my company. I also don't need to rush," she said. "I think if I was going to step back into this, I would do it differently than I did it last time."

The Shakespeare in Love star explained that she would be more "discerning" with her projects rather than saying yes to every offer that came her way.