She may be PEOPLE’s 2013 Most Beautiful Woman but Gwyneth Paltrow insists her kids, Apple, 8, and Moses, 7, don’t see her as anything but mom.

“Around the house, I’m in jeans and a T-shirt. I don’t really wear makeup. That’s what they’re used to,” she says. As for her husband, Chris Martin, “He’ll make a joke about it. If I’ve gotten fully dressed up, he’ll be like, ‘Oh, wow! You’re Gwyneth Paltrow!’ Because he’s used to seeing me in like baggy shorts and frizzy hair.”

And Paltrow wouldn’t have it any other way. With her second cookbook, It’s All Good, debuting at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list and her next film, Iron Man 3, hitting theaters on May 3, Paltrow credits her workout routine for keeping her looking youthful and less tired.

“It makes me look younger and feel strong,” says the actress, who does the Tracy Anderson Method five days a week. “When I first started, I thought, ‘I’ll never be good at this. This is a nightmare!’ But now it’s like brushing my teeth, I just do it.”

More importantly, she hopes to instill a good body image in both her kids, especially now that her daughter is starting to become interested in things like makeup. “When we’re home sometimes, she’ll put on mascara. And sometimes I’ll let her wear something out to dinner – but just a little dab,” she says.

“Also having a father who adores you the way that he adores her is very good for your body image. The more we can love her and let her be who she is, the more confident she’ll feel.”

For more of Paltrow’s exclusive interview – in which she opens up about her marriage and family, shares beauty tips and sets the record straight on all the rumors – pick up this week’s special issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

Read more: People Magazine