What You Don't Know About Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson has carved out her own spot in Hollywood with her bright, bubbly demeanor and impressive acting chops. The 41-year-old is the daughter of actress Goldie Hawn and musician Bill Hudson of the Hudson Brothers. Many are surprised to learn that Kate isn't the daughter of Goldie's longtime love, Kurt Russell, who did raise Kate and her brother, Oliver Hudson (per Venus). Goldie and Kurt got together after Goldie's divorce from Bill.

Hudson's career took off soon after she dedicated herself to it. She had small parts on Party of Five and EZ Streets while she was a student at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica, California. Though she got accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, she decided to give acting her full attention after her 1997 graduation (per Biography). In 1998, she made her film debut in Desert Blue and threw herself into many more projects in the next year, with one hitting big (per IMDb).

Kate Hudson's big break came in 2000 with Almost Famous. She played unforgettable groupie Penny Lane in the movie, which earned her a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture as well as an Oscar nomination (via The Independent). The recognition was especially significant for the young actress, who, despite having a famous mother, wanted to build her career on her own merits. The role that helped her do just that almost didn't happen, however. 

Director Cameron Crowe did not even envision Hudson in the role of Penny Lane originally. She was actually slated to play William's sister, Anita, in the movie, a role that eventually went to Zooey Deschanel (via Complex). Canadian actress Sarah Polley was initially cast to play Penny, but later dropped out, giving Hudson the role that would catapult her career.

"I found Penny Lane's character to be such an amazing female role," Hudson told E! Online at the time. "I got totally sucked into her life and when I did walk onto set, my emotions were so surfaced because of all the work that we had done. It was very easy for me to go different places." Hudson also told the outlet that she had a "strong, gut feeling" that the role would be life-changing.

After Almost Famous, Hudson found herself becoming a rom-com sweetheart. In real life, she also found love. She met Chris Robinson, frontman for The Black Crowes, at a party in May of 2000. Ironically, it was while she was out with her friend and Almost Famous co-star Jimmy Fallon, who was trying to get out of the friend zone with Hudson and make a move of his own (via Entertainment Weekly). Days later, the then-21-year-old actress moved in with the 34-year-old rocker.

Things moved very fast and the two were married by an Ute Indian shaman on New Year's Eve 2000. Hudson took some time away from work to enjoy her first year of marriage, which she described as "volatile" (via People). "We were so in love and passionate, and then we would just hate each other and throw stuff around, and then we would travel to Paris for a week," she said.

In January 2004, the couple welcomed their son, Ryder. By 2007, however, they were divorced. It was by no means an ugly breakup. "I just had no question about him, and I still don't. He's a permanent fixture in my life, but I believe our love changed its form, it shifted ..." she told The Times Online (per E! Online). "I think we were meant to have a child, and we have this amazing little boy together and therefore we'll be together our entire lives. Whoever he ends up with, whoever I end up with, we'll always be together."

Kate Hudson has been in a lot of great films, but she's not the kind of actress who likes watching herself on screen. "When you're doing it, you're not thinking about anything like that ... When you're in it, it's a completely different experience than watching it," she explained during a Hudson Union Society interview in 2017 (via YouTube). 

She's come around to the idea a little more recently, after sharing some of her movies with a now 17-year-old Ryder. "There's a couple of movies that are fun to watch with the kids," she told Elle. "Watching Almost Famous with Ryder was so great. And then Skeleton Key. It's fun to watch it through your kid's eyes because they're able to see these movies now."

Her other children, nine-year-old son Bingham Bellamy, whom she shares with ex Matt Bellamy of Muse, and two-year-old daughter, Rani Rose, her child with partner Danny Fujikawa, are probably still a little young for some of mom's work.

Kate Hudson is usually pretty private about her relationships, but she's opened up more during her time with Danny Fujikawa, who is also a musician, than arguably ever before. In an Instagram post in late 2017, she revealed the two met back during her first marriage, when she was pregnant with Ryder.

"The first time I met Danny I was 23 and enormously pregnant with Ryder," she shared. "His step sisters are my best friends [Sara Foster and Erin Foster] and so it goes we have been in the same circle for over a decade!" She also opened up about their first date.

"A year ago today Danny took me on a hike, and what I thought was just a hike with a family friend turned very quickly into an unexpected first date. No moves were made on this first date. In fact, it took months for him to make a first move! And as a kiss on this bridge would have been nice, the kiss a year later was so much sweeter. So on our 15th year of knowing each other we were able to open our hearts to each other to feel so much pure love and it's been truly incredible!"

To say Hudson's life is busy is an understatement. There's being a mom to three kids, acting, her athleisure company Fabletics, and other business endeavors to juggle. One might argue it's chaos, but Kate said she's made it through by learning to embrace change.

"I change my routine. I change my look. I change my mind," she told Self. She also tries to keep everything in perspective, never wanting to take herself too seriously.

"I think finding the balance really is more about emotional balance, isn't it?" she said. "Sometimes stress can be good stress. The whole point is that life doesn't ever get easy. And so you have to learn how to enjoy it."

When it comes to what's next, look out for Kate's return to rom-coms. That said, it'll be on her own terms. "I will definitely do rom-coms again," she told Women's Health. "But I haven't been happy with the way people try to convince me a rom-com should be."

She also plans to get in the director's chair. "I will act when I want, but I want to tell stories," she says. "I'll be the woman with all those crazy, big bracelets, jewelry, and caftans, directing."