Gwyneth Paltrow kept Chris Martin's surname when they divorced.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow

The 42-year-old actress took the Coldplay frontman's last name when they tied the knot in 2003 and has continued to be legally called Gwyneth Paltrow Martin since their 2016 divorce for the sake of their children, 14-year-old daughter Apple and 12-year-old son Moses.

She told the Sunday Mirror: "I personally - legally - did keep my last married name. My legal name is Gwyneth Paltrow Martin.

"I think in my case, because I am known out in the world as Gwyneth Paltrow, I had always kept that identity in a way. But in things related to school I am Martin. Other children call me Mrs Martin, which is kind of hilarious.

"It's a personal choice. I don't know - it has to be what's right for everybody. In some cases women really want to reclaim their own name. And in some cases people want to keep their married name."

Gwyneth and Chris, 41, split in 2014 before divorcing two years later and the actress got engaged to producer Brad Falchuk, 47, in January.

Gwyneth gets on well with Chris, and has said the former couple's ability to co-parent well makes being separated so much easier

She recently explained: "Really, the question becomes how much of your ego are you willing to check at the door, and can you let go of spite - because if you can do those things, then you absolutely can have a friendly divorce. It's just how much control do you have over your own actions, really, at the end of the day.

"Chris and I had days in the beginning when it was really hard. I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to eat dinner with him, and he didn't want to eat dinner with me. In our case, we're really lucky because we see eye to eye. Chris and I are really lucky because we really agree fundamentally about how to raise the children. We have similar principles and values. I absolutely trust him ... I'm just going to focus on what I love about Chris, and there's so many things to love about him, and I still do that."