When it comes to heartfelt expressions of love, there's nothing quite as romantic as having a needle-wielding stranger permanently stain your skin with ink. Just look at Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton. Or Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. Or Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee. Or Roseanne and Tom Arnold.

The latest big name to take an unwise chance on a tattooed tribute is Gwyneth Paltrow, who has purportedly gotten an etching in honor of her Coldplay husband, Chris Martin.

The London Daily Mail reports the goody-two-shoes Oscar winner popped into London's Selfridges department store last week and plunked down about $120 to have the letter "C" applied to her upper thigh.

The inconspicuous marking took about 20 minutes to create, according to tattoo artist Steve Flannery, who tells the paper Paltrow was a bit "nervous."

"At first she was thinking about having a tattoo on her arm, but then decided that this might affect her acting work," he recalls. "In the end she decided on the top of her right thigh, and joked that Chris would have fun finding it."

Adds Flannery, "I asked her if the C stood for Coldplay, but she said it was definitely a C for Chris. Compared to some designs I do, this was discreet and subtle, to say the least."

Paltrow and Martin, who are rarely snapped out in public together (the exception being her recent illness, when the rocker grappled with an intrusive paparazzo as they left the hospital), have repeatedly been hit with talk of trouble, which they've adamantly denied.

Last month, the actress said they were considering adopting a sibling for Apple, 3, and Moses, 1.

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