Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, now the successful founder of a lifestyle company, was fired from her first job when she was just 12.

The 47-year-old, who is the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and late director-and-producer Bruce Paltrow, was working at a toy store on New York's Madison Avenue back then, but she was dismissed after failing to turn up for work while on school holidays, reports dailymail.co.uk.

"I got fired because I went on spring break, but I didn't tell my boss. I just didn't show up for duty. I thought the world stops when you go on spring break," said the Oscar-winning actress.

"I was devastated, but it was a good lesson."

When she was still at school, Gwyneth and her friends used to go to "upscale" nightclubs, where they all felt very "sophisticated".

She told the Town & Country magazine: "What we figured out was that the more upscale places would let you in, but if you were trying to get into the Irish bar on Second Avenue, they wouldn't.

"We thought we were so sophisticated, talking about Dostoyevsky and cutting school to go to the Met. Margot Tenenbaum, but maybe with less eyeliner."