Gwyneth Paltrow’s Top Life Hacks, From Hiring Right to Wearing Jumpsuits

A decade later, Goop is no joke. It is arguably the most prominent celebrity-run lifestyle brand, encompassing: a website; virtual as well as brick-and-mortar retail shops; a line of clothing; Goop by Juice Beauty products (including $140 replenishing night cream); bicoastal summits with $2,000 tickets, plenty of turmeric and tarot card readings; a printed magazine; and vitamin packets with names like “Why Am I So Effing Tired?” On March 8, the Los Angeles-based Ms. Paltrow, who’s also busy parenting Apple, 13, and Moses, 11, adds a podcast to the mix, to provide an even “deeper dive” into Goop-y stuff like meditation, colonics and those notorious jade eggs. Ms. Paltrow insists she’s not a podcast expert, although she listens to psychotherapist Esther Perel’s relationship show and business-themed discussions during physical therapy on Sundays.

In a recent phone chat, Ms. Paltrow filled us in on her interest in grilling Jeff Bezos, grim German TV and why she likes being ladylike.

1. “The Sheltering Sky”; 2. A gold locket made by Hoorsenbuhs; 3. Paltrow as Margot Tenenbaum; 4. Hibiki Whiskey; 5. Brooklyn Roasting Company coffee; 6. Ellsworth Kelly, “Avocado,” 1959. Photo: Ellsworth Kelly, “Avocado,” 1959 © The Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery (6); F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal; Everett Collection (3); F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal (1, 2, 4, 5)

My favorite character I’ve played is: Margot Tenenbaum. She’s so wonderfully complicated and enigmatic and listless. She also has such great style.

I hire people by: asking two questions: Is the person a triple-A-plus and are they an a-hole? Yes for box one, and no for box two. I always want to hire people who are smarter and nicer than I am.

My foolproof fashion fallback is: jumpsuits. You don’t have to think so much about your outfit, and it’s more unexpected than a dress. My current go-to is one by Alessandra Rich. It’s perfect, black and easy.

A piece of clothing I’d never get rid of is: my dad’s Levi’s jacket from the 1960s that my mom embroidered flowers on. I would not want to lose that.

The artist who inspires me is: Ellsworth Kelly. I’m always uplifted by his work. I love his color blocks and think his drawings are poetic and organic.

My favorite television show is: “St. Elsewhere,” though I haven’t watched it in a long time. My dad made it. It’s brilliant. It’s kind of the godfather of great modern television. Right now, I’m watching the German show “Dark” on Netflix. It’s very, well, dark.

I’d love to have dinner with: Jeff Bezos. I just have lots of questions for him. Does he want to be the boss of the whole world or is there a beautiful, poetic strategy for the consumer? I’m totally fascinated—he’s an enigma.

I waste time on the internet: shopping for furniture on 1stDibs.

My closet is: unedited. I need to Marie Kondo that s—t. I get very sentimental about things and I don’t move them along.

My current favorite piece of jewelry is: a gold locket made by Hoorsenbuhs. There’s something very hard and soft about it at the same time.

My guilty pleasure is: a Nat Sherman [cigarette]. I probably have one six times a year. I like alcohol a lot, too.

My drink of choice is: Japanese whisky. I like a dirty martini. I love an old fashioned. Those are my three drinks. [I indulge] probably seven days a week. It’s not always a large quantity, but I like to have something when I get home or with dinner.

Growing up, I had a crush on: Keanu Reeves. It’s weird—he would so not be my type now. But when I was young, he was the bee’s knees. Yes, I’ve met him, and he’s a very handsome man.

I start my day with: coffee, from a drip coffee machine, with half-and-half. I always have Brooklyn Roasting Company coffee, which I get shipped to Los Angeles. It’s the little things.

The best tip my mother gave me was: to be a lady, which seemed like an arcane piece of advice. But it’s great if you modernize it in your head. It means to have self-respect, to treat others with kindness, to be polite.

The book that most shaped me is: “The Sheltering Sky” because I felt like the heroine, Kit, was so complicated. She had so many sides, was so amazingly free and autonomous. She was punk rock while still being fancy.

Write to Marshall Heyman at marshall.heyman@wsj.com

—Edited from an interview by Marshall Heyman