Gwyneth Paltrow's Daughter Is Growing Up So Fast

Did someone rip the time-space continuum? (Or, hey, maybe it just consciously uncoupled.) Because just yesterday Gwyneth Paltrow announced she and Chris Martin were expecting their first child together. Then, the world blinked and that daughter, Apple Martin, turned into a teenager. At least that's what it feels like when you watch a celebrity kid who is raised in the spotlight and, accordingly, grows up right before your eyes. 

Over the years, Apple has gone from a tow-headed tot being led into ballet class by grandma Blythe Danner to a beautiful young girl — one who loves her mama, is her dad's biggest fan and plays Taylor Swift on loop. Before you know it, you'll blink again and Apple will be the new editrix of her mom's luxury lifestyle empire, Goop. For now, though, it's fun to look back and consider just how far Paltrow and Martin's oldest child has come since her birth in 2004.  

Any parent will tell you that naming your child is a deeply personal decision — but one which everyone likes to weigh in on. The public peanut gallery is predictably opinionated when it comes to celebrity baby names since, well, Hollywood does come up with some unique ones. So when Paltrow and Martin announced their first child, a daughter, would be named Apple, you could practically hear people rolling their eyes.

During an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2004, though, Paltrow said she didn't understand the hullabaloo over the hotly debated name (which, for the record, Martin suggested). "It conjured such a lovely picture for me — you know, apples are so sweet and they're wholesome and it's biblical — and I just thought it sounded so lovely and clean," she said. "And I just thought, 'Perfect!'"

Of the criticism the name received, Paltrow told Winfrey, "I found (that) surprising because there are people named Rose or Lily or Ivy or June or lots of pretty nouns." 

You likely wouldn't get arguments out of anyone in the Paltrow-Martin fam if you were to call Apple a daddy's girl. In fact, according to Paltrow, Apple's strong bond with her father formed fast and strong. "When her daddy walks in the room he'll say, 'Hello girls!' and her little head's trying to find his voice,'" Paltrow told Oprah Winfrey about a then-3-month-old Apple's instant adoration of Martin. That connection clearly carried over into adolescence and beyond, because Paltrow often posts photos of Apple fangirling at Coldplay concerts or just hanging out with her famous dad.

The duo's tight-knit relationship is likely strengthened by the fact that, like Martin, Apple is quite musical. In 2015, Paltrow shared a video on Instagram of her daughter playing guitar and singing the song "Keegan's Christmas" by Marcy's Playground in a kids' choir. Then, in 2016, footage surfaced of Martin pulling Apple onto the stage during a private concert to perform Ariana Grande's "Just a Little Bit of Your Heart." What's that they say about the apple not falling far from the tree? 

Although there's no denying Apple digs her dad's music — see aforementioned fangirling and onstage collaborations — the girl's other musical tastes are pretty typical for a teen. Case in point? Taylor Swift is apparently Apple's favorite singer (you know, outside of her dear ol' dad), and Paltrow doesn't mind these musical leanings at all. She approves of her little girl's pick so much that, in 2015, Paltrow gave Swift the first of what may turn out to be many ringing endorsements.

"Happy birthday, #taylorswift," she wrote on Instagram, posting a photo of the entertainer hugging Apple. "Thank you for being the kind of #girlboss that you are. And for being Apple Martins biggest inspiration."

The following year, Paltrow confirmed to People that she's more than okay with her daughter being a diehard Swiftie. "She's very savvy, she keeps her clothes on, she writes music, she has good values. She's a good girl," Paltrow said of the country-turned-pop-star.

When Paltrow posted a photo of Apple on her thirteenth birthday, fans couldn't get over just how grown-up the little girl looked. But it was clear even by the tone of Paltrow's caption that Apple is, indeed, moving more and more every day toward being her own person. "Happy 13th birthday you gorgeous human. You light up every room, my heart, the world. You. Are. Everything. I love you, schnapps," Paltrow penned to her precocious offspring.

It wasn't the first time Paltrow faced the dreaded Mama truth that her baby girl wasn't actually a baby anymore. In 2016, just after Apple turned 12, Paltrow told People, "She's so tall and she really has her own life." The proud mama also admitted she held onto Apple's innocence as long as possible, noting "she was the last one of her friends to get a phone."

Alas, you know you've got a teen on your hands when their interests, per Paltrow, are "cooking, beauty, makeup." And, oh, did we forget to mention texting and fashion, too?

Just because you've got legs that look to be about a million miles long doesn't guarantee you're going to be a good dancer. Sometimes being leggy works to your disadvantage and you wind up looking like a newborn giraffe on the dance floor (*raises hand*). But when you're Apple Martin, your enviable limbs apparently move with finesse.

Over the years, Paltrow has made numerous allusions on her IG feed to her daughter's dancing skills. In 2016, she showed Apple leaving a dance competition after the girl "crushed it." In February 2017, Apple — Starbucks in hand — was captured at a dance competition in a seriously jazzy ensemble. And in May 2017, Paltrow hilariously posted a photo of "#dancedad" Chris Martin wearing Mickey Mouse gloves and tossing back a cocktail.

Apple's most impressive dance move to date, though, has to have been the aerial ballet Paltrow photographed her daughter doing on a Mexican beach in June 2017. "Two week trip complete," Paltrow captioned the jaw-dropping pic, adding the hashtag, "#victorydanceofahomebody." She captured a similar moment of her daughter's impressive flexibility in December of that year, but this time with dad hilariously attempting air-splits in the background.

Getting married is one of the most exciting times in any bride's life. But with weddings come some pretty difficult decisions — for example, choosing who will be standing next to you as you exchange vows with your beloved. Lucky for Gwyneth Paltrow, she had a built-in bridesmaid when she wed producer and Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk on September 29, 2018.

In a series of wedding photos posted to Paltrow's popular lifestyle website, Goop, Apple Martin dons a white, floor-length, strapless Monique Lhuillier bridesmaid gown while standing with her new stepsister, Isabella, and watching as a laughing Paltrow is helped into her custom Valentino Couture wedding dress. In a post-ceremony photo, Apple can be seen beaming in the background as she watches the elated bride and groom walk hand-in-hand down the aisle through raining confetti. While not every child is thrilled to see their parent(s) go on to marry someone else after a divorce (or "conscious uncoupling"), it seems Apple couldn't be happier for her newlywed mom.