Gwyneth Paltrow's mother is proud of how she and Chris Martin have handled their separation.

The 'Iron Man 3' star split from the Coldplay rocker last March after nine years of marriage and Blythe Danner thinks they have done a ''brilliant'' job of staying friends and raising their children, Apple, 10, and eight-year-old Moses.

She said: ''They are so smart...both incredibly brilliant. They're making it work, they're great friends and the kids are in wonderful shape. So I have to take my hat off to both of them.''

However, the 71-year-old actress struggled to get to grips with 'conscious uncoupling', the phrase used by the pair when they announced their separation.

She told the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column: ''People make fun of this, um, what do they call it? What is that thing that they've been doing? Separating, but being?''

When reminded it was 'conscious uncoupling', she added: Yes, but it's called 'conscious' . . . not 'conscious uncoupling.' Conscious...''

Blythe's beloved husband Bruce Paltrow died in 2002 and though she thinks he was the ''best'' partner she could have had, she admits to wishing she had someone else because she gets ''lonely''.

Referring to her new movie I'll See You in My Dreams', in which she stars with June Squibb, she said: ''June says in the movie, 'When you've had the best, forget the rest,' and I kind of feel that way. I had an incredible husband. It would be great if somebody fell in from the sky...because you do get lonely as you get older. But I'm very grateful that I have grandchildren on both coasts and they fill my heart.''