Goldie Hawn Biography
Goldie Hawn is an American actress who began her career on the 1960s comedy show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." In 1970, she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film "Cactus Flower." In the 1970s, she was considered one of Hollywood's most popular actresses. Some of her most popular films include "The First Wives Club," "Private Benjamin," and "Overboard." After a long absence from the screen, she appeared in the films "The Christmas Chronicles" (2018) and "The Christmas Chronicles 2" (2020).
Childhood, Youth, Family
Goldie Jeanne Hawn was born in the fall of 1945 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland. Her name translates to "golden-haired."Her mother, Laura Hawn (née Steinhoff), was the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. She owned a jewelry store and later opened a dance school. Her father, Edward Rutledge Hawn, was a virtuoso musician. Goldie grew up with her older sister, Patti, who was eight years her senior.
Her parents raised their daughters in both Jewish and Presbyterian traditions:
Before entering the film industry, Hawn was a professional dancer. At three years old, Goldie started taking ballet and tap dance lessons. By ten, she danced in the Russian Ballet Monte Carlo's production of "The Nutcracker."...My mother was a Jew with strong roots. Family is an important part of the Jewish way of life. Presbyterians don't have the same sense of family, although on my father's side I have a very large and close-knit family. But it's not quite the same. It's like being Greek or Italian. It was clear that my father's belief system wasn't based on anything but his own philosophical nature. He wasn't someone who believed blindly; he was a seeker, a searcher, and a philosopher.
At sixteen, she made her stage debut in a production of "Romeo and Juliet." By nineteen, Goldie was running a ballet school for kids and teaching there, having left college where she specialized in dramatic arts.
Acting Career
In 1967, Goldie appeared on television in the sitcom "Good Morning World," where she played the gossiping neighbor Sandy.She first gained recognition for her comedic roles in the sketch show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," earning two Emmy nominations. She was in the show from the pilot episode and left after the third season. She appeared in sketches about the Farkel family, playing one of the daughters, and hosted several programs on CBS and ABC.
Her first leading role came in 1969 when she starred in Gene Saks' melodrama "Cactus Flower." Her portrayal of Toni Simmons, a young record store clerk who falls in love with a womanizer and liar, won her a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
After receiving the coveted statuette, her career took off. Roles in successful comedies followed "Cactus Flower," including "$" and "Butterflies Are Free."I didn't dress up or receive the award. And I regret it. Looking back now, I think: «It would have been so wonderful to have had the chance to do that.» I forgot that the ceremony was televised that night. Then I woke up to a phone call around four in the morning. A male voice said, «Hey, congratulations, you did it.» I asked, «Did what?» And he replied, «You won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She portrayed Russian ballerina Oktobrina in Robert Ellis Miller's "The Girl from Petrovka" (1975), based on George Feifer's novel. In this film, Goldie Hawn played a Russian for the first and only time. Her character falls in love with an American journalist during the Cold War, and the KGB tries to prevent their happiness. Anthony Hopkins initiated the film adaptation after reading the novel and played the lead male role.
Shortly before, Steven Spielberg's directorial debut, the crime drama "The Sugarland Express," was released. In it, the actress played Lou Jean Poplin, a former convict determined to retrieve her son from foster care.
In 1978, she starred with Chevy Chase in the box office hit "Foul Play," and two years later, she produced and starred in one of her most memorable films, the comedy "Private Benjamin." For her role as a wealthy Jewish woman who joins the army after her first wedding night, Goldie was nominated for an Oscar.
Hawn also worked with Woody Allen in his film "Everyone Says I Love You" (1996) and with Steve Martin in "HouseSitter" and "The Out-of-Towners."
Her last film before a fifteen-year hiatus was the 2002 comedy "The Banger Sisters," where she starred alongside Susan Sarandon.
In 2005, after a trip to India, Hawn published her autobiography, "A Lotus Grows in the Mud," which sold a million copies. She included a spiritual quote from an oracle of the Nechung Monastery in India as an epigraph:
The lotus is the most beautiful flower, whose petals open one by one. But it will only grow in the mud. To grow and gain wisdom, first, you must have the mud - the obstacles of life and its suffering... The mud speaks of the common ground that humans share, no matter what our station in life... Whether we have it all or we have nothing, we all face the same obstacles: sadness, loss, illness, dying, and death. If we are to strive as human beings to gain more wisdom, more kindness, and more compassion, we must have the intention to grow as a lotus and open each petal one by one.
Personal Life of Goldie Hawn
For over forty years, the actress has been happily in a de facto marriage with fellow actor Kurt Russell. They first met on a set in 1968. Kurt was 16, Goldie was 22, and they didn't pay attention to each other.But when they met at an audition for the romantic drama "Swing Shift," Kurt immediately noticed the charming blonde and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind while hungover:
The couple has been together since 1983 and has a son, Wyatt Russell, who was born in 1986.I didn't know Goldie at all, except for working with her many years ago. I just didn't expect what I saw. She had a great body, so the first thing I said was, 'Man, you’ve got a great figure.' It sounded weird and was wrong, but she said, 'Thank you.'
Hawn also has two children from her previous marriage to musician Bill Hudson – Oliver and Kate, who later became actors. Goldie became a good friend to Boston, Kurt Russell's son from his first marriage. Russell also earned the respect of Goldie's children, and they celebrate Father's Day with him, which has often upset Hudson, who once won the house the family lived in during the divorce.
When the actress got close to Russell, she was still married to Hudson, although they had stopped considering themselves a couple by 1980. The last straw was Goldie's affair with an extra from the movie "Private Benjamin," a young Frenchman. Hudson hated recalling his ex-wife and got very irritated by her perfect public image:
Goldie's first husband was actor and director Gus Trikonis, with whom she lived for five years. During their divorce, she paid him $75,000 because they split everything equally, and Gus earned much less than his already popular wife.I'm sick of her showing the world this spotless image when the reality of her life is completely different. She is manipulative, cruel, and selfish.
Now, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell are happy grandparents of seven grandchildren. Their family says that despite their age, the couple still looks in love and constantly comes up with activities for their big family.I’ve been married and divorced twice. Kurt and I have lived together for many years and haven’t divorced because we never married. My 'cage' is open, and I can leave anytime, but I don't. Maybe it's because the cage is open. I think the promise to be with the same person for the rest of your life is wonderful. But I also know many people cheat and don’t admit it. I've never asked Kurt if he cheated on me. I don’t want to rock the boat. The thing is, a woman's relationship with a man is different from a man's relationship with a woman: a woman perceives it more personally and emotionally. Unlike men, she is under the influence of emotions, not testosterone. They say men die earlier than women because of this hormone, which suppresses immunity.
Goldie Hawn Now
In 2017, the actress returned to the screen after a 15-year break. She starred in the action comedy "Snatched," and then played Mrs. Claus in the holiday fantasy "The Christmas Chronicles" and its sequel.In 2020, Goldie stopped acting again. The pandemic delayed the planned filming of "Family Jewels," which was supposed to reunite Hawn, Keaton, and Midler, the brilliant trio from "The First Wives Club."
The actresses agreed to star in the Christmas comedy, but the release date was not announced, although the anticipation for the movie is quite high. In a 2020 interview, Goldie said:
I just received a new version of the script; you know how important it is to perfect the script before filming begins. Moreover, no one is making such films now, and we need to understand that we won't be able to shoot scenes set in New York for a while. Let's just say this film wasn't designed for COVID-19. We are currently developing scripts for projects that wouldn't require a large cast and crew but would still be funny enough to be worth producing. We live in interesting times, don't we?
Interesting Facts
- Many colleagues and friends note that Goldie Hawn has an amazing ability to enjoy life. Diane Keaton once said:
Every morning she drinks a cappuccino, and each time it's the most delicious coffee for her... The most amazing thing about Goldie is that she doesn't seem to work on her role. She just comes, sits in the makeup chair, learns her lines, and then goes on set and becomes her character.
- Hawn considers herself a devoted mother but also remembers that all her children are individuals. In one interview, the actress admitted:
I always tried to put my children first. But sometimes, work came first. I regret most that I didn't take my children to all my shoots. However, when my youngest son got seriously into hockey, we moved to Vancouver. Recently, he received a good scholarship to study at college, where he now plays for the team. I'm very happy for him but also fear the dangers of professional sports. One time, he was a second away from scoring a goal, but another player tripped him. I screamed, 'I hate this game!' But my son got back on the ice the day after he returned from the hospital.
- While working on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," Goldie admitted she felt guilty towards her parents and relatives—no one in their hardworking family earned as much money as she did. She also sang with Cher, knew Elvis Presley, President Richard Nixon, and other celebrities, while her parents only saw them on TV.
- Goldie Hawn is the founder of a charity for the holistic development of children and helping parents in their upbringing. She involved neurologists, psychologists, scientists, and researchers to develop the program "MindUP." The actress, who studied Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions in different countries, wrote the book "10 Mindful Minutes," which became a bestseller.
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