The screen legend speaks candidly about her Hollywood life and gifted family.
Goldie Hawn has been smiling down at audiences for more than 40 years, creating her own brand of girl-next-door charm and delighting movie-goers with her sometimes ditzy roles. And during it all she has raised three children — son Oliver and daughter Kate from her third marriage to Bill Hudson, and son Wyatt from her 24-year relationship with fellow actor Kurt Russell.
Here 61-year-old Goldie tells why she’ll never walk down the aisle with Kurt, and why they have separate bank accounts. She also reflects on the break-up of her daughter’s marriage to Chris Robinson, and what it’s like being a grandmother.
You haven’t been seen on the big screen since The Banger Sisters in 2002 — was this a deliberate decision to step away from the spotlight?
Well, I didn’t see anything I liked. I was reading material and there wasn’t any good, fun and right stuff for me. In addition, at a certain time of your life it becomes less easy with scripts, as there aren’t too many for you out there. The other thing is that at some point during your career you have to grow and change and move and do things that you have never done, like write a book, which I did in 2005 [her memoir, A Lotus Grows In The Mud]. I’ve also been very busy with my institute [The Hawn Institute], which I have created to improve education in America and Canada. But of course I’ve also enjoyed my life tremendously.
You’ve been in the business for 40 years. Would you like to continue acting for a long time yet? Does it still inspire you?
It does inspire me and excites me. I started out entertaining and it’s kind of who I am and what I have been doing all my life and it’s still a lot of fun. But at the same time I am a person who likes to learn new things. So, somehow yes, I like acting, but I am also extremely excited about directing. I mean it’s fine for some people to continue doing what they do until they can’t do it anymore. But for me it’s great to make choices and to see that I have the options and the opportunity to do different things in my life and not the same ones over and over again.
Do you have any dreams left?
Tons of dreams! I have great dreams to achieve something with this learning institute for children. I want to travel the world, go to places where I have never been, meet people across the continents and do a documentary about that. I am also planning to produce a funny, but at the same time important TV series about what happens to and changes for people when they turn 40. I am very excited about doing a play. I also want to write another book. So there is still a lot to do.
You often star in comedies. Are you ever tempted to do more serious films?
No, that doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that the film is good, the story is good, that everything makes sense — because the point is that comedy is drama and in many ways drama is comedy … therefore that doesn’t make too much difference.
Your eldest children Oliver and Kate are both successful and busy actors — do you all make an effort to spend time together?
Well, we all have dinner together quite often. My daughter lives down the street from me, so I see her a lot. Once in a while we also spend holidays together. When I turned 60, Kurt took us all to Tahiti where we had a great time. It’s always so much fun when we all meet up. We are very, very close and see each other as often as we can.
Your daughter Kate Hudson recently went through a divorce. How did the family support her?
We supported both of them [Kate and ex husband Chris] during this difficult time. How can you not when you love both of them? We love our daughter, of course. But we also grew to love Chris very much. We are still very close with him. He lives miles away, but he and Katie are doing wonderfully. The baby [three-year-old Ryder] is very well adjusted. We are all friends and see him very often. We actually stayed a family, it’s just that they both didn’t work out as a couple.
Your next film Ashes To Ashes will also co-star your partner Kurt Russell. What do you like about working together?
The great thing is that it never gets difficult. He’s a very good worker and has great ideas and, in addition, he’s very supportive. I have a lot of respect for his attitude.
You two have been together since 1983. What’s the secret to having an enduring relationship?
I think the secret is to know when to depend on somebody and when not to. It’s important that you are able to hold up your side of the house. I believe that one person can’t bear the whole burden because then their shoulders start getting heavy. The other part is to stay as sexy as you can and make sure you focus on all of those aspects of a healthy relationship — and sexuality is definitely one of them.
What is so special about Kurt?
He is a unique and very gifted person. He is smart, alive and a big character. He’s also a great father … and he is very male!
So why won’t you two head down the aisle?
Because we have done just perfectly without marrying. I already feel devoted and isn’t that what marriage is supposed to do? So as long as my emotional state is in a state of devotion, honesty, caring and loving, then we’re fine.
We both have independent finances, we’re both independently well-off. We have raised our children brilliantly; they are beautiful people. We did a great job there and we didn’t have to get married to do that. I like waking up every day and seeing that he is there and knowing that I have a choice. There is really no reason to marry.
You have spoken candidly about infidelity in the past, but would you forgive Kurt if he cheated on you?
Yes, I probably would. I wouldn’t forgive him for bad behaviour or for being unkind or mean. But mistakes happen and we are all human — so probably I would come to some understanding.
How do you relax when you have days off?
I do relax when I spend time with my family. I also do travel quite a lot, so I relax on airplanes. No phones, no emails, just books. I also love to hike and bicycle. I cycle quite a bit when I am in Europe for example. That’s my big sport.
How do you stay looking so young and fit?
I really don’t know. I do work out, but not like a crazy person. I drink a lot of juices. But the bottom line is that I honestly think that a lot of it is genetic. You can look at your skin for instance. If you have healthy skin, you can do things to make your skin look good. But if you have sick skin, it’s obviously more difficult to do something. So I don’t know if there is any real secret. It’s just sort of what you have to work with. And God was good me. I didn’t get any light skin although I am an absolute blonde. And even now I don’t have to colour my hair at all because I don’t have any grey in it. It’s just amazing. And I am not afraid of getting older. As long as everything holds up, I am fine.
Would you ever consider plastic surgery?
I don’t have a problem with it. If I needed it, I would probably do it. A lot of people have done it. But if you want to feel good about yourself and think that you can achieve that through plastic surgery — then forget about it! Plastic surgery doesn’t make you feel good about yourself. You are who you are. You have to feel good about yourself very differently — very much from your own soul-searching and self-discovery. These are things that put a pretty face on — plastic surgery doesn’t.
For the full interview see this week’s Woman’s Day (on-sale September 17)
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