A failed actress turned yoga teacher turned “chief brand and impact officer” for husband Adam Neumann’s notoriously disastrous endeavor, Rebekah is portrayed in the series as constantly living in the shadow of others, including cousin Gwyneth Paltrow, then pal Elisha Kennedy (played by America Ferrera and inspired by the real-life Julie Rice) and her own spouse (played by Jared Leto), whose larger-than-life charisma made WeWork into a notoriously cult-like—and toxic — work environment. Famously spiritual to the point of being called “woo woo,” Rebekah was a follower of Kabbalah, and Hathaway told Bustle that one particular Kabbalah principle she studied for her character is what guided her through the role: “Judge all persons favorably.” “That became sort of my north star to play her,” the Oscar winner said. “I appreciate that the world has kind of made up their minds about [Rebekah] and that she’s received a certain amount of judgment. But what if I can come to this experience with fresh eyes? What if I judge her favorably? The end result is still the same, but what if I [embrace] her good intentions? That opened up the character for me in a way that felt very honest and authentic.” Hathaway said she spoke to several people who knew Rebekah personally, and they had a repeated refrain about her. Hathaway recalled, “The word that came up in every single interview was how sweet she was. And based on what I read about her in the media, that was not a word that ever came up.” Fair enough! Get to know Neumann, the real woman behind Hathaway’s WeCrashed star turn.
Is Rebekah Neumann related to Gwyneth Paltrow?
Neumann is Oscar-winner and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow’s first cousin on their fathers’ sides of their families. Neumann’s father, Robert “Bob” Paltrow, is brother to Gwyneth’s late father, the director and producer Bruce Paltrow. Neumann’s maiden name is Rebekah Paltrow. Gwyneth helped Neumann promote her ill-fated school WeGrow in a video released in 2018. Gwyneth didn’t appear in WeCrashed, nor does any other star portray the actress. That is deliberate, the show’s co-creators Lee Eisenberg and Drew Crevello note. “In the process of learning about Adam and Rebekah and trying to understand them as human beings and understanding their childhoods and backstories and experiences, it’s very difficult to look at Rebekah and not sort of wonder what does that do to someone, especially someone who at one point wanted to be an actor to have a megastar and mega-talent be sort of just five feet away,” Crevello told Entertainment Tonight. “So, it really only mattered to us in a kind of character study way.” “Generally speaking, we weren’t looking to make caricatures out of Adam and Rebekah, and that extended to not wanting to use Gwyneth Paltrow in a sort of unseemly way,” Crevello said, adding that Gwyneth had “no part” in the downfall of WeWork.
Is Rebekah Neumann still married?
Rebekah and Adam Neumann are still married. According to Esquire, the Neumanns still live in the Hamptons, though they also had a respite in Israel from the fallout of WeWork’s failure and their respective ousters from the company; a source told The New York Post they were fleeing from the “negative energy” in New York City. Rebekah and Adam Neumann share five children.
Where is Rebekah Neumann now?
Rebekah Neumann is back in New York City with Adam and their five children. Their kids were enrolled in Rebekah’s pet project school, WeGrow, until the school closed. Forbesreports that she purchased WeGrow back and renamed it Students Of Life For Life (abbreviated as SOLFL and pronounced “soulful”). She has another new business, Flow Carbon, that purchases forests near the equator to conserve and preserve them—and to, The Financial Timesreports, sell carbon credits to businesses who want to reduce their carbon footprints.
Where did Rebekah Neumann attend college?
Neumann attended Cornell University, where she double-majored in Buddhism and business and reportedly name-dropped her famous cousin when pledging to a sorority. After undergrad, she participated in Salomon Smith Barney’s Sales and Trading Program, but told The School of Greatness podcast that she quit after just a few weeks because it “just wasn’t for” her.
What happened at Rebekah Neumann’s wedding?
If it weren’t for a generous wedding gift from Rebekah Neumann’s parents, WeWork may have never existed. Her father gifted her and Adam $1 million at their wedding. Instead of using it on a house, Rebekah invested it in Adam’s dream of WeWork and got the business off the ground.
Is Rebekah Neumann acting?
Neumann’s last acting credit was in 2012 in the short film Aunt Louisa. Compared to her Marvel star cousin, Neumann’s IMDb page is quite sparse, with only three other credits. One of them is the short film Awake, in which she co-starred with Rosario Dawsonand Sean Lennonand wrote herself. In the book Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork (via The Daily Mail), it’s revealed that everyone else involved with the film assumed Dawson would play the lead (including Dawson herself) — but that on the first day on the Awake set, Neumann “made clear the role was hers.” Billion Dollar Loser author Reeves Wiedeman alleged that no one involved in the project ever saw the finished short film, in which Neumann played another version of herself, writing, “All they could tell me was that the plot seemed to have something to do with meditation, that it was the most expensive short film they had ever worked on, and that Rebekah had been especially difficult to work with.”
Who is Rebekah Neumann’s father?
Rebekah Neumann’s father Robert “Bob” Paltrow was the co-founder of North American Communications Inc., which sent bulk advertising in the mail. He found the charities American Cancer Research Funds Inc. (ACRF) and the American Heart Research Foundation, Inc. (AHRF) in 1983 and 1984, respectively—but they were, as Justiaput it, nothing but “old-fashioned swindles” with no money going to those causes at all. It wasn’t his only run-in with the law: In 2014, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to six months behind bars for failing to report more than $4.7 million in taxable income to the IRS for the years 2007 and 2008. His criminal penalties also included one year of supervised release and a $50,000 fine. His criminal case is portrayed in WeCrashed in the context of Rebekah writing a letter to his sentencing judge as a character witness. She wrote in her letter (via Bustle), “I do not know why my father would disrespect the government or act in such an irresponsible and stupid way as to not pay taxes, but I have to imagine, in some way, it was related to the tremendous loss he felt and his wanting to rebel against a larger system of life.” Today, Bob Paltrow lives a relatively quiet and subdued life in Palm Beach, Fla., though he still enjoys some serious luxuries, including vintage race cars.
What happened to Rebekah Neumann’s brother?
The “tremendous loss” to which Rebekah referred in her letter to her father’s sentencing judge is the death of her beloved brother, Keith, when she was 11 years old. Keith passed away in 1989 from cancer at just 23, and his death was a catalyst in Rebekah going vegan. She also briefly used the stage name “Rebekah Keith” for some films during her fledgling acting career, likely as a tribute to her late sibling. Next, get to know where Sarma Melngailis of Bad Vegan is now.
