Goldie Jeanne Hawn was born November 21, 1945 in Washington, D.C. to Laura Hawn, who owned a dance school, and Rut Hawn, a band musician. She has one sister, entertainment publicist Patti Hawn; a brother, Edward, died in infancy before her birth. She was raised in the Jewish religion. Her mother was Jewish and the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. Her father was Presbyterian. At the age of three, Goldie began taking ballet and tap dance lessons, and at the age of ten she danced in the chorus of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo production of "The Nutcracker". At the age of 19 she ran and instructed a ballet school, having dropped out of college where she was majoring in drama. Before going into the film business she worked as a professional dancer.
Hawn made her feature film debut in The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), with a small role as a giggling dancer. Her first big role came in 1969, where she played opposite Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman in Die Kaktusblüte (1969), a role which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. After the Oscar win her career took off and she followed with roles in successful comedies such as Ein Mädchen in der Suppe (1970) and Shampoo (1975), and more dramatic roles in Das Mädchen von Petrovka (1974) and Sugarland Express (1974). In 1978, she starred alongside Chevy Chase in the box office hit, Eine ganz krumme Tour (1978). In 1980 she starred in another box office hit, Schütze Benjamin (1980), where she also served as producer. During the 1980s she starred in hit movies such as Zwei dicke Freunde (1982), Protocol - Alles tanzt nach meiner Pfeife (1984) and American Wildcats (1986). In 1987, she appeared with her boyfriend Kurt Russell in Overboard - Ein Goldfisch fällt ins Wasser (1987), which became both a critical and box office disappointment. Her career slowed down after that until 1990 when she starred alongside Mel Gibson in Ein Vogel auf dem Drahtseil (1990). In 1992 she starred in the successful film, Der Tod steht ihr gut (1992), with Meryl Streep and Bruce Willis, which was followed by another successful film Housesitter - Lügen haben schöne Beine (1992), which co-starred Steve Martin. In 1996 she played the role of an aging alcoholic actress in the comedy, Der Club der Teufelinnen (1996), with Diane Keaton and Bette Midler; it became a critical and financial success. She also starred in the Woody Allen film Alle sagen: I love you (1996) and Schlaflos in New York (1999), which reunited her with Martin. In 2001 and 2002 she starred in Stadt, Land, Kuss (2001) with Warren Beatty, and Groupies Forever (2002) with Susan Sarandon.
Goldie has been married twice. First to dancer/director Gus Trikonis from 1969 to 1973. In 1976 she married musician Bill Hudson and became a mother for the first time that year, when she gave birth to their son Oliver Hudson. In 1979, she had her second child with Hudson, daughter Kate Hudson. The marriage ended in divorce in 1980. Since 1983, she has been having a relationship with actor Kurt Russell. Their son Wyatt Russell was born in 1986. Goldie is also a de-facto stepmother to Kurt's son Boston Russell. She has eight grandchildren.
