How Goldie Hawn And Kurt Russell's Kids Really Feel About Them
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell's love story has spanned decades, with neither of the stars feeling the need to put a ring on it and exchange vows in a formal wedding ceremony. Happily unmarried since 1983, the pair are still going strong as they enjoy their golden years together. In fact, Hawn has spilled the spicy secret to their decades-long romance: hot fun in the bedroom! "People who have healthy sexual relationships usually last a lot longer," Hawn told E! News. "But it's not just because of the act — it's because of the warmth and the intimacy that it creates."
During the four-plus decades they've been together, Russell and Hawn have raised four children together. Actors Oliver Hudson and Kate Hudson are the children Hawn shares with ex-husband Bill Hudson. Kurt had one son, Boston Russell, with his ex-wife, Season Hubley (whom Kurt met when he played Elvis Presley in a TV movie and Hubley portrayed Elvis' wife and eventual ex-wife, Priscilla Presley). Then came Wyatt Russell, the power couple's only child together, who also joined the family business by becoming a successful actor.
As mentioned, three of those children (Boston Russell has preferred to keep a low profile over the years) have joined their parents' in the Hollywood limelight, embarking on successful acting careers of their own. Meanwhile, those three have also been pretty vocal about their experiences as Hollywood scions. To find out more, read on to examine how Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell's kids really feel about them.
Oliver Hudson felt 'unprotected' as a child while in his mother's care
Goldie Hawn's oldest child is son Oliver Hudson, born in 1976. Hawn's marriage to Hudson's father, musician Bill Hudson, was troubled, as he was just a toddler when his parents separated in 1980 — just one of many tragic details about Hawn. While Hawn raised Oliver and younger sister Kate — who was born shortly before the separation — as a single mom, she was also pursuing a demanding Hollywood career.
As Oliver recalled during an edition of the "Sibling Revelry" podcast (which he co-hosted with sister Kate), that was not the ideal scenario for a child. "She would be working and away. Or she had new boyfriends that I didn't really like," he said. "This was my own perception as a child who didn't have a dad and who needed her to be there, and she just wasn't [there] sometimes." He singled out his mother as being the source of a significant degree of childhood "trauma," explaining, "She was my primary caregiver and I was with her all of the time, so I felt unprotected at times."
When his recollections of "trauma" and feeling "unprotected" sparked global headlines, Oliver felt the need to walk back his statement when appearing on a subsequent episode of "Sibling Revelry." "There was no trauma coming from my mother, the way she raised me, in any way whatsoever," he insisted, explaining he was sharing the viewpoint of his 5-year-old self. "It's more about sort of my child feelings in that moment, rather than me and how I feel about mom as a parent," he added.
Kate Hudson recalled Goldie Hawn giving her kids 'freedom'
As it turned out, Oliver Hudson's little sister had a somewhat different recollection of their childhood while being raised by single mom Goldie Hawn after her divorce from their father, Bill Hudson. In a 2023 Mother's Day Instagram post (which she subsequently deleted), Kate shared a throwback photo of her mom, her brother, and herself when they were kids, jokingly recalling how Hawn's attempts to take the perfect family photo were always thwarted by whatever childhood anarchy happened to be going on at the moment. That, Kate explained, was something to celebrate, and she credited her mom for letting her and her brother be themselves. "She gave us freedom, let us be wild, loved us endlessly and we got the pictures to prove it," she wrote in the caption, as reported by People.
When Kate became a mother herself, her parenting style was markedly different from that of Hawn. "I'm more lenient, like way more lenient," Hawn told People, while her daughter admitted, "I'm so strict." That caused Hawn to jokingly chime in, "She's Attila the Hun."
Kate has expressed similar feelings about Kurt Russell, whom she's long called "Pa." "He has taught me that we can all exist with immense love through our differences," she wrote of Russell in an Instagram post, also crediting him for the confidence that's sustained her throughout the ebbs and flows of a Hollywood acting career. "When you have a dad who gives you permission to be confident," she added, "you live courageously."
Oliver Hudson 'hated' his mother's fans taking her attention away from him
While it's no secret that Oliver Hudson has followed mom Goldie Hawn's path to become an actor, his early memories of his mother's celebrity status were not good ones. When he and sister Kate Hudson welcomed supermodel Cindy Crawford as a guest on their "Sibling Revelry" podcast, Oliver confessed that when he was a kid he was freaked out by his mother's fame.
Speaking with Crawford, Oliver remembered what it was like when he was with his mom in public when he was a young kid, and fans descended upon them, demanding autographs and photos. "People coming up and wanting her attention," he said, admitting that he felt jealous that she was forced to shift her focus toward strangers and away from her son. "And it was detracting from her energy toward me. And I hated it," he added. "It would make me angry when people would come up to the table and want autographs and interrupt what we were doing, and it was this invasion for me as a young boy," he added.
Interestingly, his sister did not have quite the same reaction to her mother being approached by fans. "So it was definitely a negative experience on that side for me, whereas Kate was like, 'Bring it on,'" he observed.
Wyatt Russell appreciated the sacrifices his parents made for him
In 1986, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn welcomed their first and only child together, son Wyatt Russell. From a young age, Wyatt displayed talent as an athlete and gravitated toward ice hockey. In 2002, the couple and their teenage son moved from their home in Los Angeles to the Canadian city of Vancouver, so that Wyatt could play in the Pacific Junior Hockey League, with a goal of being scouted by an NHL team. Wyatt went on to play professional hockey in Europe, but issues with his hip forced him to abandon his dream of one day playing in the NHL.
Instead, he pivoted toward an acting career — not particularly surprising when considering that he literally grew up on movie sets. Understandably, he's been appreciative of the wisdom his parents have offered him about the vagaries of showbiz. When asked what advice his parents had given him, Wyatt told People, "Be on time, don't be an a**hole, and remember your lines." That advice has seemingly paid off, given the success he's experienced — which has included joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as superhero U.S. Agent and portraying a younger version of his father's character in the Godzilla-themed series, "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters."
When interviewed for Rolling Stone, Wyatt admitted that his own acting career gave him even more appreciation for just how supportive his parents had been when it came to his hockey aspirations. "My dad never really missed a hockey game and rarely missed taking me to practice," he recalled. "My mom was always at games. And sometimes they made sacrifices to make that happen by not taking jobs and stuff."
Kate Hudson wrote her song Right on Time about mom Goldie Hawn
Kate Hudson has had many complimentary things to say about parents Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell over the years. However, she took that to a whole other level with the 2024 release of her debut album, "Glorious." One of the album's tracks was titled "Right on Time" and allowed her to express her feelings about her mom via music. "She's a left-hand beauty with big blue eyes," Hudson sings in the chorus. "Crooked smile half a beat on time / She never planned her path in life / But she was right on time."
As Hudson explained during an appearance on British talk show "Lorraine," the song is about her mother's early years, expressing her admiration for Hawn during a precarious time when she left home setting out to find her path in life before her head-turning transformation into the iconic movie star she's become. "She didn't have this calculated concept of 'I'm gonna be a movie star.' My mom thought she'd have a dance school and stay close to home," Hudson said.
The musical tribute allowed her the opportunity to share her appreciation of her mom via song, as Hudson told Glamour, while also preserving some family history. "I think we're the keepers of our parents' stories, and we get to share them with our children and we get to share them with your community," she told the magazine, while also revealing what her mom thought of the song. "She loved it!" Hawn said. "I mean, at first I think she was, it took a second to sink in because she was like, 'Is that about me?'"
Oliver Hudson wants Goldie Hawn to return to the screen
Oliver Hudson may have had issues with mom Goldie Hawn's fame when he was a kid, but he's also a serious fan of her film work — and her trailblazing efforts as a female star in Hollywood during an era when sexism ran rampant. Speaking on his and sister Kate Hudson's podcast, "Sibling Revelry," he praised Hawn's tenacity, as both an actor and a producer. "She was a pioneer, let's say, fighting for her creativity, fighting for her ideas, not taking s***, and paving the way for a lot of young women to become what they've become," he said. "She's a f***ing icon that way, and so it was emotional for me to watch her on stage looking incredible," he said, referring to Hawn's appearance as a presenter at the 2025 Academy Awards.
Despite his mother's advancing years — she turned 79 in November 2024 — he was also adamant in his belief that her film career wasn't over, and that she had more to offer in the future. "I want to see her on screen," he added. "This is where she thrives ... This is where she belongs."
Wyatt Russell admitted it took becoming a father to understand his parents' sacrifices for him
Like siblings Kate and Oliver Hudson, Wyatt Russell has started a family of his own. Becoming a father, he explained in an interview with People, led him to an even greater sense of appreciation for all the various ways that parents Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn had made for him. "When you become a parent, you realize what your parents feel about you," he gushed, sharing how much he cherished what his famous folks had done on his behalf. "And so you realize that all they want you to be is happy," he added. "They want you to live a fulfilled life, and that's all you care about for your kids. And so I'm imagining that's all my parents care about."
When father and son made a joint appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" to discuss "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," Wyatt admitted one question he was constantly being asked while they promoted the TV series together was what he had learned about his father while working together. As he revealed, he actually hadn't learned anything new. "Because all I ever knew was my dad," he explained, praising his father for his blunt honesty. "And he's a truth-teller — he tells me the truth. It's really boring, but it's the way life is. And it's amazing for me because I never had to second-guess things."
Kate Hudson took a road trip with her mom that resulted in no more road trips ever
It's hardly a secret that Kate Hudson has maintained a close relationship with parents Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. There was, however, a particularly rough period when Kate, brothers Oliver Hudson and Boston Russell, and her mom hit the highway on a road trip, an anecdote she related while appearing on "The Kelly Clarkson Show." "We did a road trip — which turned into never road-tripping again," she quipped.
According to Kate, the road trip took place many years earlier, before brother Wyatt was born, with Hawn and the kids setting out in a VW Bus. "It was a very romantic idea for my mom at first," she recalled, explaining that her mother hadn't quite calculated the level of chaos of spending day upon day cooped up with three rambunctious kids within a small space, which resulted in Hawn having a meltdown blowout in the middle of the desert.
Meanwhile, Kate shared another childhood memory about her mom, recalling Hawn's response when she once complained about being bored. "And [my mom would] be like, 'Good, be bored. Figure something else to do. Figure something out,'" she told People. As she grew older and became a mother herself, Hudson has come to realize the wisdom that her mother was actually imparting with that response. "As I had my own kids, I realized it's really good for them to be bored and ... just spark their imagination," she explained.
Oliver Hudson confirmed Goldie Hawn and partner Kurt Russell are 'amazing' grandparents
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell's children have typically expressed their admiration for the manner in which they parented, and that has also been the case now that they've become grandparents. Speaking with Us Weekly in 2021, Hudson couldn't say enough positive things about their abilities with their grandkids. "My parents are amazing grandparents," he shared. "We're a very tight family. We all live very close to each other ... They're amazing people, amazing grandparents, amazing parents."
Interestingly, he had the chance to experience that parenthood when he was an adult, when Hudson opened up about what it was like moving back in with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell while his house was being renovated in 2022. According to Hudson, he and his wife had no complaints about the experience of shacking up with his folks. "It's great. Breakfast is made; Mom makes biscuits and gravy and eggs. It's actually — there's a chance we won't leave, I'll tell you that," he joked to E!'s "Daily Pop (via People).
Kate Hudson is in awe of her mother's 40-year relationship with Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell may not be Kate Hudson's biological father, but from as early as she can remember, she never felt that he was anything other than her father. "I had Kurt since I was 3!" Hudson declared during an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show." "I feel so unconditionally loved by Kurt," she continued, adding, "He's the best — I was just so lucky."
While Hudson hasn't been as lucky in love as mom Goldie Hawn when it's come to finding long-term love, she saw Russell's relationship with her mother as the gold standard to which all relationships should aspire. "They have stuck it out," she said, marveling at their 40-plus years together, despite the appearance of some glaring red flags in Hawn and Russell's relationship.
"Their strongest value is their dedication to that unit," she told People. "They've been through everything together, and it's such an amazing thing to see, especially as they get older, how beautiful their relationship is." As she observed, that kind of longevity is a unicorn among relationships in show business, and it's something that she has never taken for granted. "It's like a very rare Hollywood story," she added. "They're in it forever."
Wyatt Russell has fond memories of watching his mom direct when he was a kid
Some of Wyatt Russell's favorite childhood memories come from the time he spent on movie sets while parents Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell made films. Not only did he experience their respective work ethics firsthand, he also watched his mother take control of her career behind the camera — both as a producer who shaped the material she'd be starring in and as a director. While speaking with "ET," Wyatt recalled being on the set to watch his mom make her directorial debut with the 1997 TV movie, "Hope." "That one specifically really cool, my mom was directing," he said.
As he explained in an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, he believes he received the best acting education possible from watching his parents and leaned in on one key lesson. "What he gave me, and my mom gave me, was the mindset that you're an individual, and you make your choices individually. Individuality is an important thing in this business — to not lose yourself," he said. As for his acting itself, Wyatt insisted that anything he learned about the craft from his parents came from watching, not teaching. "There's nothing about acting that they can really teach you," he said. "It's just not the way it really works."