Goldie Hawn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn 2011.jpg
Hawn in May 2011
Born Goldie Jeanne Hawn
(1945-11-21) November 21, 1945 (age 67)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation Actress, producer, director
Years active 1967–present
Spouse(s)

Gus Trikonis
(m. 1969-1976)

Bill Hudson
(m. 1976-1980; 2 children)
Partner(s) Kurt Russell
(1983-present; 1 child)
Children Oliver Rutledge Hudson
(1976-09-06) September 6, 1976 (age 36)
Kate Garry Hudson
(1979-04-19) April 19, 1979 (age 34)
Wyatt Russell
(1986-07-10) July 10, 1986 (age 26)
Relatives Erinn Bartlett (daughter-in-law)

Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in television's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and films like Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Shampoo, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is the mother of actors Oliver and Kate Hudson. Hawn has maintained a relationship with actor Kurt Russell since 1983.

Contents

Early life[edit]

Hawn was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Laura (née Steinhoff), a jewelry shop/dance school owner, and Edward Rutledge Hawn, a band musician who played at major events in Washington. She was named after her mother's aunt.[1] She has a sister, Patricia; her brother, Edward, died before she was born. Through her father, Hawn is a direct descendant of Edward Rutledge, the youngest signatory of the Declaration of Independence.[1] Hawn was raised in Takoma Park, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., and attended Montgomery Blair High School in nearby Silver Spring, Maryland. Her father was Presbyterian and her mother was Jewish,[2] the daughter of immigrants from Hungary;[3] Hawn had a Jewish upbringing.[1][4][5][2]

Hawn began taking ballet and tap dance lessons at the age of three, and danced in the chorus of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo production of The Nutcracker in 1955. She made her stage debut in 1961, playing Juliet in a Virginia Shakespeare Festival production of Romeo and Juliet. By 1964, she ran and taught in a ballet school, having dropped out of American University, where she was majoring in drama. In 1964, Hawn made her professional dancing debut in a production of Can-Can at the Texas Pavilion of the New York World's Fair. She began working as a professional dancer a year later, and appeared as a go-go dancer in New York City.[1]

Career[edit]

1960s[edit]

Hawn began her acting career as a cast member of the short-lived situation comedy Good Morning, World during the 1967-1968 television season, her role being that of the girlfriend of a radio disc jockey, with a stereotypical "dumb blonde" personality.[1] Her next role, which brought her to international attention, was as one of the regular cast members on the 1968-1973 sketch comedy show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. On the show, she would often break out into high-pitched giggles in the middle of a joke, and deliver a polished performance a moment after. Noted equally for her chipper attitude as for her bikini and painted body, Hawn was seen as something of a 1960s "It" girl.

Hawn's Laugh-In persona was parlayed into three popular film appearances in the late 1960s and early 1970s: Cactus Flower, There's a Girl in My Soup, and Butterflies Are Free. Hawn had made her feature film debut in a bit role as a giggling dancer in the 1968 film The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, in which she was billed as "Goldie Jeanne", but in her first major film role, in Cactus Flower (1969), she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Walter Matthau's suicidal fiancée.

1970s[edit]

Comedy skit with Carl Reiner on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, 1970.

After Hawn's Academy Award win, her film career took off. She starred in a string of above average and successful comedies starting with There's a Girl in My Soup (1970), $ (1971), and Butterflies Are Free (1972). She continued proving herself in the dramatic league with the 1974 satirical dramas The Girl from Petrovka and The Sugarland Express, and Shampoo in 1975. She also hosted two television specials: Pure Goldie in 1971 and The Goldie Hawn Special in 1978. The latter was a sort of comeback for Hawn, who had been out of the spotlight for two years since the 1976 release of The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox, while she was focusing on her marriage and the birth of her son.

On the special she performed show tunes and comedy bits alongside comic legend George Burns, teen matinee idol Shaun Cassidy, popular television star John Ritter (during his days on Three's Company), and even the Harlem Globetrotters joined her for a montage. The special later went on to be nominated for a primetime Emmy. Four months later the film Foul Play (with Chevy Chase), was released and became a box office smash and revived Hawn's career in the film industry. The plot centered around an innocent woman in San Francisco who becomes mixed up in a murder plot. Hawn's next film, Mario Monicelli's Lovers and Liars (1979), was a box office bomb. In 1972 Hawn recorded and released a solo country LP for Warner Brothers, titled Goldie. It was recorded with the help of Dolly Parton and Buck Owens. Allmusic gives the album a favorable review, calling it a "sweetly endearing country-tinged middle of the road pop record".[6]

1980s[edit]

Hawn's popularity continued into the 1980s, starting with another primetime variety special alongside actress and singer Liza Minnelli, Goldie and Liza Together (1980), which was nominated for four primetime Emmys. In the same year, Hawn took the lead role in Private Benjamin, a comedy she produced. Private Benjamin, which also stars Eileen Brennan and Armand Assante, garnered Hawn her second Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actress.[1] Hawn's box office success continued with comedies like Seems Like Old Times (1980), Protocol (1984), and Wildcats (1986) — Hawn also served as executive producer on the latter two — and dramas like Best Friends (1982) and Swing Shift (1984).

At the age of thirty-nine, Hawn posed for the cover of Playboy's January 1985 issue. Hawn posed in a giant martini glass wearing nothing but a white collar shirt, a loosened black tie, and a pair of red stilettos. Her last film of the 1980s was opposite partner Kurt Russell for the third time in the comedy Overboard (1987).

1990s[edit]

Hawn at Grand Hôtel in Stockholm 1981

Hawn's career slowed down after leaving Hollywood in the late 1980s, but revived somewhat in 1990 with the action comedy Bird on a Wire, a critically panned but commercially successful picture that paired Hawn with Mel Gibson. Hawn had mixed success in the early 1990s, with the thriller Deceived (1991), the drama CrissCross and opposite Bruce Willis and Meryl Streep in Death Becomes Her (both 1992). Earlier that year, she starred in Housesitter, a screwball comedy with Steve Martin, which was a commercial and critical success. Hawn was absent from the screen again for four years while caring for her mother who died of cancer in 1994.[1] Hawn made her entry back into film as producer of the satirical comedy Something to Talk About starring Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid, as well as making her directorial debut in the television film Hope (1997) starring Christine Lahti and Jena Malone.[1]

Hawn returned to the screen again in 1996 as the aging, alcoholic actress Elise Elliot in the financially and critically successful The First Wives Club, opposite Bette Midler and Diane Keaton, with whom she covered the Lesley Gore hit "You Don't Own Me" for the film's soundtrack. Hawn also performed a cover version of the Beatles' song, "A Hard Day's Night", on George Martin's 1998 album, In My Life. She continued her tenure in the 1990s with Woody Allen's musical Everyone Says I Love You (1996) and reuniting with Steve Martin for the comedy The Out-of-Towners (1999), a remake of the 1970 Neil Simon hit. The film was critically panned and was not successful at the box office.[7][8] In 1997, Hawn, along with her co-stars from The First Wives Club, Diane Keaton and Bette Midler, were recipients of the Women in Film Crystal Awards.[9]

2000s[edit]

In 2001 Hawn was reunited with former co-stars Warren Beatty (her co-star in $ and Shampoo) and Diane Keaton for the comedy, Town & Country, a critical and financial fiasco. Budgeted at an estimated US$90 million, the film opened to little notice and grossed only $7 million in its North American theatrical run. In 2002, she appeared in The Banger Sisters opposite Susan Sarandon and Geoffrey Rush.

In 2005 Hawn's autobiography, A Lotus Grows in the Mud, was published.

Personal life[edit]

Relationships and family[edit]

Hawn's first husband was dancer (later director) Gus Trikonis, who appeared as a Shark in West Side Story; his sister Gina played Graziella, Riff's girlfriend. Her second husband was Bill Hudson, of the Hudson Brothers; the couple married in 1976 and divorced in 1980. They have two children, actor Oliver Hudson (born September 1976) and actress Kate Hudson (born April 1979).

Hawn has been in a relationship with actor Kurt Russell since 1983. They had first met while filming The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), but became involved only after meeting on the set of Swing Shift. They have a son, Wyatt Russell (born 1986).[10]

Hawn is the stepmother of Kurt Russell's son Boston, and she became a grandmother in 2004 when her daughter gave birth to son Ryder Russell Robinson. Her second grandson, Wilder Brooks Hudson, was born to her son Oliver and his wife, actress Erinn Bartlett, in 2007.[11] In 2010, Oliver and his wife had another boy, whom they named Bodhi Hawn Hudson.[12] Her daughter Kate gave birth to her fourth grandson, named Bingham Hawn Bellamy, in July 2011.[13][14]

Religion[edit]

Hawn became involved in Eastern philosophy in 1972. She practices Buddhism and has raised her children in both Buddhist and Jewish traditions. She stated on Larry King Live, in 2006, that she is a Jewish Buddhist, and considers herself ethnically Jewish and a follower of Buddhist philosophies.[15] In a 2012 interview, when asked about her religion, Hawn stated, "I don't think of myself as a Buddhist. I was born Jewish, and I consider that my religion", as well as that "It's not the idea of a particular religion that's important; it's the development of a spiritual life".[16]

Hawn travels to India annually, and has visited Israel, stating that she felt a strong identification with its people.[4] She has been criticized by pro-Palestinian activists for her support for Israel and the Jewish National Fund.[17] In 1997, she was one of a number of Hollywood stars and executives to sign an open letter to then-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, published as a newspaper advertisement in the International Herald Tribune, which protested the treatment of Scientologists in Germany.[18]

Mindfulness[edit]

Hawn founded and funds The Hawn Foundation,[19] which teaches the Buddhist technique of mindfulness training; where kindergarten through seventh-graders are instructed in mindful awareness techniques and positive thinking skills, then tested for changes in behavior, social and emotional competence, and moral development.[20] A study by the University of British Columbia indicated that children who participated in the program increased significantly in the areas of optimism and positive emotions, while decreasing in aggression.[21] Hawn was in negotiation with the British Conservative Party (before the country's 2010 general election) to set up a school in Britain where her MindUp technique would be taught.[22] Hawn realizes that many parents oppose bringing Buddhist methods into public schools, and stated: "There will always be people who see this as scary, or as some kind of Eastern philosophy that they don't want for their kids." Hawn adds, "Mindfulness gives kids a tool for understanding how their brain works, for having more self-control."[23]

Filmography[edit]

Year Film Role Other notes
1967–1968 Good Morning, World Sandy Kramer TV series
1968–1970 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In Herself (Regular Performer) TV series
Nominated - Emmy Award for Special Classification Achievements - Individuals (Variety Performances) (1969)
Nominated - Emmy Award for Special Classification of Outstanding Program and Individual Achievement - Individuals (1970)
1968 The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band Giggly Girl Credited as Goldie Jeanne.
1969 Five the Hard Way Uncredited
Cactus Flower Toni Simmons Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
David di Donatello Award: Special David
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Female
1970 There's a Girl in My Soup Marion Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

Nominated – Golden Laurel Award for Best Comedy Performance, Female

1971 $ Dawn Divine aka Dollars
1972 Butterflies Are Free Jill Tanner Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1974 The Sugarland Express Lou Jean Poplin
The Girl from Petrovka Oktyabrina
1975 Shampoo Jill Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1976 The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox Amanda Quaid/Duchess Swansbury Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1978 Foul Play Gloria Mundy Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1979 Lovers and Liars Anita
1980 Private Benjamin Pvt. Judy Benjamin/Goodman Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated - National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress (3rd place)
Nominated - New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (2nd place)
Seems Like Old Times Glenda Gardenia Parks
1982 Best Friends Paula McCullen Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1984 Swing Shift Kay Walsh
Protocol Sunny Davis
1986 Wildcats Molly McGrath
1987 Overboard Joanna Stayton/Annie Proffitt
1990 Bird on a Wire Marianne Graves
1991 Deceived Adrienne Saunders
1992 CrissCross Tracy Cross
Housesitter Gwen Phillips
Death Becomes Her Helen Sharp Nominated - American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)
1996 The First Wives Club Elise Elliot National Board of Review Award for Best Cast
Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress – Comedy
Everyone Says I Love You Steffi Dandridge Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
1999 The Out-of-Towners Nancy Clark
2001 Town & Country Mona Miller Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress
2002 The Banger Sisters Suzette Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Stated in Hawn interview on Inside the Actors Studio, 2008
  2. ^ a b "Woman's Hour (interview of Hawn)". BBC Radio. March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.  Minute 10:17 Q. You describe yourself as a Jewish Buddhist? A. "That's very old. I don't know where that came from. I'm Jewish....I've studied Buddhism. I've studied Christian faith. I've studied Sufi. I am a great believer in looking at all religions, comparative religions...I am not a JewBu. I am actually born to Jewish mother and I was raised Jewish but my father was Presbyterian so I also went to Presbyterian church."
  3. ^ "Ancestry.com". Kate Hudson Family Tree. Retrieved April 5, 2006. 
  4. ^ a b Caldwell, Deborah. "Goldie: Buddhist, Jew, Jesus Freak". Beliefnet.
  5. ^ "Goldie Hawn A Wallflower?". CBS News. April 28, 2005. 
  6. ^ Mason, Stewart. "Goldie: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved November 2, 2009. 
  7. ^ "The Out-Of-Towners (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 29, 2010. 
  8. ^ "The Out-of-Towners". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 29, 2010. 
  9. ^ "Past Recipients". wif.org. Retrieved May 9, 2011. 
  10. ^ "Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell have son". The Milwaukee Journal (via Google News). July 10, 1986. Retrieved October 23, 2010. 
  11. ^ Fleeman, Mike (August 27, 2007). "Oliver Hudson and Wife Erinn Bartlett Welcome a Son". People. Retrieved August 14, 2010. 
  12. ^ "Oliver Hudson Welcomes Son Bodhi Hawn". March 25, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2010. 
  13. ^ Owen, Pamela (July 17, 2011). "Post baby glow: Kate Hudson makes her first appearance since giving birth to son Bingham Hawn". The Daily Mail. Retrieved July 17, 2011. 
  14. ^ "It's a boy! Kate Hudson welcomes her second child". msnbc.com. July 10, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  15. ^ King, Larry (February 24, 2006). "Interview With Goldie Hawn". CNN. Retrieved March 10, 2012. 
  16. ^ Newman, Judith (December 2012). "The Secret To Goldie Hawn's Sunny Disposition". Prevention. Retrieved March 17, 2013. 
  17. ^ "Protestors heckle Goldie Hawn at Scots charity event". The Scotsman (Edinburgh). March 9, 2008. Retrieved March 10, 2012. |
  18. ^ Bonfante, Jordan; van Voorst, Bruce (February 10, 1997). "Does Germany Have Something Against These Guys?". Time. Retrieved March 10, 2012. 
  19. ^ http://www.thehawnfoundation.org/history
  20. ^ Chamberlin, J. (2009). "Goldie Hawn shines light on children's mental health". Monitor on Psychology 40 (7): 23. ISSN 1529-4978. Retrieved March 10, 2012. 
  21. ^ "Goldie Hawn's MindUp program helps kids relax". The Arizona Republic (Phoenix). July 4, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2011. 
  22. ^ "Goldie Hawn in talks with Tories to set up British school which teaches children breathing exercises". The Daily Mail (London). February 14, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2012. 
  23. ^ "Oldies but Goldies! Fresh-faced Goldie Hawn looks stunning as she steps out with Kurt Russell". The Daily Mail (London). October 6, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2012. 

External links[edit]

Videos[edit]