Goldie Jeanne Hawn was born in Washington D.C., to Laura Hawn (née Steinhoff), a jewelry shop/dance school owner, and Rut Hawn (Edward Rutledge Hawn), a band musician. She has a sister, Patti Hawn, and a brother, Edward, who died before she was born. She was raised in the Jewish religion. Her mother was Jewish and the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. Her father was Presbyterian, and had German and English ancestry. 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 had her feature film debut in The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), with a small role as a giggling dancer. Her first major role came in 1969, where she played opposite Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman in Fleur de cactus (1969), a role which earned her an academy award for best supporting actress. After her Academy Award win, her career took off and she followed with roles in successful comedies, such as Une fille dans ma soupe (1970) and Shampoo (1975), and more dramatic roles in Butterflies Are Free (1972), La fille de la rue Petrovka (1974) and Sugarland Express (1974). In 1978, she starred alongside Chevy Chase in the box office hit, Drôle d'embrouille (1978). In 1980, she starred in another box office hit, La bidasse (1980), where she also served as producer. During the 1980s, she starred in movies such as Les meilleurs amis (1982), Swing Shift (1984), and Femme de choc (1986). In 1987, she appeared with her partner, Kurt Russell, in Overboard (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 Comme un oiseau sur la branche (1990). In 1992, she starred in the successful film, La mort vous va si bien (1992), with Meryl Streep and Bruce Willis, which was followed by another successful film, Fais comme chez toi (1992), which co-starred Steve Martin. In 1996, she played the role of an aging alcoholic actress in the comedy, Le club des ex (1996), with Diane Keaton and Bette Midler; it became a critical and financial success. She also starred in the Woody Allen film, Tout le monde dit I love you (1996) and Escapade à New York (1999), which reunited her with Steve Martin. In 2001 and 2002, she starred in Potins mondains & amnésies partielles (2001) with Warren Beatty, and Sex fans des sixties (2002) with Susan Sarandon.
Goldie has been married twice. First to actor/director Gus Trikonis, from 1968 to 1973. In 1975, she married musician Bill Hudson and became a mother, for the first time, in 1976, 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 in a relationship with actor Kurt Russell.
