The lore accurate question is one of the mysteries of Hollywood. In addition to being peers, Ryder and Paltrow were close friends, roommates in New York, and members of the same affluent social circle in the 1990s. While Winona Ryder was gaining popularity with Se7en, Emma, and Sliding Doors, Ryder was already a well-known celebrity following movies like Heathers and Mermaids.
Shakespeare in Love, the 1998 movie that won Paltrow an Academy Award for Best Actress, is said to have caused the friendship to fall apart. Long-standing Hollywood rumors state that Paltrow urged her agent to seek the part after seeing the screenplay on Ryder’s coffee table. In the end, Paltrow starred in the movie, but Ryder had no role at all.
Excerpts from Amy Odell’s Gwyneth: The Biography (per PEOPLE) showed that Ryder had expressed interest but never received an official offer, which brought the topic back into the spotlight. According to the book, Paltrow first turned down the script before pursuing the part.
On The Howard Stern Show in 2015, Paltrow refuted the charge, referring to it as an “urban myth.” She said, “I swear to God I did not, I’m raising my right hand on the Bible,” she said then. “I swear to God.”
According to the biography, Paltrow was also annoyed that Ryder’s romantic partner at the time, Matt Damon, did not share her thoughts. The book goes on to say that when Shakespeare in Love became a major prize winner, tensions increased.
According to Odell, Paltrow told her friends that Ryder had started the unreal story and said she had obtained the script through her agent after media reports claimed Paltrow had grabbed the script from Ryder’s house (per People).