Gwyneth Paltrow - Gwyneth Paltrow Surprised To Find Fame As A Singer

The Shakespeare In Love star wowed fans with her vocals in her recent movie Country Strong and she has since hit the high notes on TV musical Glee.

She's also performed live at top awards shows - she sang tracks from Country Strong at the Country Music Association Awards in November (10) and at the 2011 Academy Awards, as well as teaming up with Cee-Lo Green for a rendition of his hit single Forget You at the Grammys.

Paltrow, 38, insists she's been singing since she was a kid, but admits she had practically given up on the idea of making a career out of it.

In an interview with her close friend Jay Z for his new website LifeandTimes.com, Paltrow recalls the stagefright she suffered when she joined the hip-hop mogul and her rocker husband Chris Martin at a London concert in 2006.

She tells the rapper, "I kind of always sang. My mother has a great voice and was always singing jazz around the house and I think she passed on her musicality to my brother and myself. I sang in an a capella singing group and I always thought that somewhere down the line I would dust off my pipes and use them but I didn’t know I would be so old when it happened.

"When I sang with you one night at the Royal Albert Hall a few years ago, it was so terrifying. I thought that would be the end of it. This has been a surprise to me as much as anybody else. But I love it."