Gwyneth Paltrow has started taking her Jewish roots seriously after missing out on two years of fasting during the religion's high holy days.

The actress was pregnant with baby Apple in 2003 and breastfeeding her daughter in 2004, so she made sure she honoured Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in style in 2005.

And Paltrow plans to pay tribute to her ancestors every year from now on.

She says, "I am the result of generations and generations of rabbis back in Minsk. They call it a rabbinical dynasty."