The Grand Ole Opry’s 100th anniversary celebration brought an unexpected Hollywood moment when Gwyneth Paltrow stepped onstage for a surprise performance.
The Oscar winner, 53, joined country singer Holly Williams and Williams’ husband, Chris Coleman, during the Nashville show on Nov. 20.
Williams, 44, invited the actress up with a laugh, telling the crowd, “Can y’all believe your luck? Y’all are used to those Nashville guests, but not those Oscar-winning Hollywood guests.”
The trio then performed Williams’ 2013 song Drinkin.
After the song, Williams joked with the audience: “Can you believe it? Isn’t it annoying when they can just do everything and they just walk out looking all like that, right? Looking real good.”
She went on to explain that she “had the great honor of meeting” Paltrow years earlier, which is when she discovered and “fell in love” with Paltrow’s “secret voice.”
They followed with Waiting on June, a song Williams said was inspired by her grandparents from Mer Rouge, Louisiana, who “taught [her] everything that really matters in life, what’s really important.”
Paltrow and Williams’ friendship stretches back more than a decade. Paltrow played a country singer in the 2010 film Country Strong and made her live TV singing debut at the CMAs that same year.
While promoting the movie, she cited Williams as one of her favorite artists, saying in 2012, “And Holly Williams’ record, I love. I like that sort of older style, soulful country.”
The two remained close. In 2020, Williams told People magazine they had become “mom friends” after vacationing together. “I’m lucky to have great girlfriends like Gwyneth,” she said, adding that their shared approach to parenting was something she valued.
