A favorite female lead in romantic comedies for her outgoing comedic personality and sunny charisma, Kate Hudson avoided the dual dangers of a Hollywood upbringing and famous parents; instead earning her own success on the big screen. At the beginning of the new century, Hudson was Tinseltowns reigning nouveau hippie chick, a sensibility likely passed down from flower power mom Goldie Hawn and further established by her Oscar-nominated role as a 1970s rock n roll groupie in Almost Famous (2000), as well as real-life marriage to the Black Crowes rocker Chris Robinson. Hudson went on to enjoy major box office success with romantic comedies including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) and You, Me, and Dupree (2006), due largely to the actresses natural charm and the fun-loving rapport she shared with her male co-stars.
The daughter of Academy Award-winning actress and producer Goldie Hawn and comedian-musician Bill Hudson, Kate Hudson was born on April 19, 1979. Hawn and Hudson broke up when their daughter was only 18 months old, so Hudson grew up considering Hawns subsequent boyfriend Kurt Russell her dad, whom Hawn started dating in 1983 during their first movie together, Swing Shift. She spent her childhood as the only sister in a boisterous household that included older brother Oliver, Russells son Boston from a previous marriage, and Russells and Hawns son, Wyatt.
Hudson was a big personality and a natural performer from the start, with dance lessons beginning at age three and training with the Santa Monica Playhouse by age 10. She also spent a great deal of time on film and TV sets with her parents, but down-to-earth Hawn and Russell maintained a solid foundation for their kids, one that valued family ties and personal responsibility and did not indulge in Hollywood excess. But it was obvious that the charismatic Hudson had a flamboyant flair for entertaining, so they certainly did not discourage her, enrolling her at the Crossroads Performing Arts high school in Santa Monica and encouraging her to spend a summer training with the renowned Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts.
In 1996, Hudson landed her first few TV appearances; most notably on an episode of Party of Five (Fox, 1994-2000), but declined an offer for a feature film debut in Escape from L.A. (1996), so as to avoid any accusations of riding the coattails of the films star, Pa Kurt Russell. The following year, she was accepted to NYUs Tisch School of the Arts but had a change of heart and decided to jump right into the professional arena, where she quickly landed several feature roles. Her first was "Ricochet River" (lensed 1997), a drama set in a Pacific Northwest logging town co-starring Jason James Richter. In "200 Cigarettes" (1999), Hudson was cast as a clumsy young woman on a New Year's Eve date from hell among an ensemble cast including up-and-comers like Christina Ricci and Ben and Casey Affleck. Morgan J. Freeman's charming "Desert Blue" followed, with Hudson as a young actress driving across the California desert with her father (John Heard) and ending up in a small town full of interesting characters. Hudson's screen radiance and palatable talent more than ensured a bright future for the young actress.
But Hudson undoubtedly made her biggest impression on Hollywood in 2000. She read the script of Cameron Crowes 1970s coming-of-age rock chronicle, Almost Famous and was determined to land a role in the film, attracted by the music and fashion of her favorite decade, as well as recognizing that it would be a significant acting challenge that would prove she could take her career to the next level. In this tale of an aspiring music journalist on the road with a rising rock band and its troupe of female band-aides, Hudson initially landed the smaller role of the rebellious runaway sister of lead character William (Patrick Fugate). Thankfully for her, Sarah Polley had to drop out of her role as head band-aid Penny Lane and Hudson tirelessly worked to convince Crowe that she could carry one of the films three leads. He relented, and Hudson delivered a pitch-perfect performance, imbuing Penny Lanes flamboyant, life-of-the-party facade with heart-breaking (and heartbroken) vulnerability and insecurity just beneath the surface.
The 20-year-old was floored to receive an Oscar nomination, feeling that she had officially joined the ranks of her show business family. Later that year, art imitated life when Hudson met Chris Robinson, singer for the blues/rock group, The Black Crowes, and the two began a whirlwind romance. Hudson moved into Robinsons New York apartment soon after, and the pair were married on New Years Eve of 2000. Upon her mothers advice, she took a year off to enjoy her new marriage. The following year, she and Hawn, Russell, and brother Oliver teamed up to form their own production company, Cosmic Entertainment.
Now a proven leading actress, Hudson wanted to choose her next film carefully. She was offered the role of Mary Jane Watson in Spiderman (2002) but did not feel ready for a sure-fire blockbuster actioner, opting instead for a remake of the Victorian classic "The Four Feathers." In the film, she starred as the fianc
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