Goldie Hawn Dishes To Daughter Kate Hudson About Her 15 Year Break From Hollywood

There was a time when Goldie Hawn topped the list of everyone’s Who’s Who of Hollywood until the actress went on a self-imposed exile from fame. Now, only a short time after Ms. Hawn had started to re-emerge and take on new film roles, her own daughter, Kate Hudson, took on the task of interviewing her for Interview magazine. The conversation between mother and daughter gave Kate and the world a greater understanding of Goldie’s life and her 15-year absence from public life.

Kate Hudson Asks Goldie Hawn, “Why So Long?”

As ABC News reports, Hudson’s interview with her mother eventually led to the topic of Goldie’s 15 years away from the spotlight, and even her own daughter seems intrigued by Hawn’s decision to step back. When asked what that break from acting was about, the veteran actress suggests that she was feeling run down and that her life was running along without any real direction.

Goldie says she was turning 50 and feeling as though she wasn’t living up to her potential. She wanted to pursue other interests, and she wanted to give something back to the world. Hawn says those were things she couldn’t get from an acting career.

“I wanted to dig deep and say, ‘Who am I now? What do I have to offer? What do I have to learn?’ I started learning about the brain, psychology,” says Ms. Hawn.

Eventually, the 9/11 attacks happened, and Goldie says that tragedy inspired her to begin a new path, one which would finally enable her to give something back.

“I ended up writing two books and creating MindUP,” says Hawn. “It’s now in Jordan, Serbia, the U.K., America, Canada, Hong Kong. I never looked back. I never wished to be acting again. I was so engaged.”

Kate and Goldie Talk Gender Equality

As Ms. Hudson points out in her Interview conversation with her mother, Goldie Hawn was producing her own films long before the current gender equality fight really gained momentum. In fact, Hawn was a producer on her own films as early as 1980’s Private Benjamin, so her words of wisdom might help young women ready to break into acting, or any woman seeking to throw herself into a new profession.

In response, Goldie says it takes more than a dream. She says it takes knowledge of a craft, and it takes hours upon hours of dedicated hard work.

The Private Benjamin actress and producer also suggests taking the time to really decide who you want to be and what you want to do with your life, before taking on any kind of new challenge. Once the big questions have been answered, Hawn says it’s time to hone your craft and develop it into a talent.

“Perfect what you do well. Branch out and learn how to do other things. Dreams sometimes don’t work out. But what will carry you through your life is the authenticity of who you are,” suggests Goldie. “Start with learning how to hammer a nail into a piece of wood. And be really good at it. Learn what it is to sweat. Learn what it is to fail. Learn how to take rejection. Don’t personalize it.”

Goldie Hawn reveals that her approach to chasing one’s dreams comes from her own childhood. She says her parents were supportive of her dreams, but they also tried to keep Hawn grounded in reality. She says they give her honest criticism of her singing and dancing (Goldie’s father thought her voice was too sharp) and even offer advice about keeping her expectations in check.

Those dreams eventually landed Goldie Hawn in Hollywood, a long way from her home in Washington D.C., and before long, she was an Academy Award winning actress. Even so, Goldie says it was never her intention to remain in Hollywood. It wasn’t the life she wanted. She says she wanted a normal life. Hawn expected to move back home, marry a Jewish dentist, and live in a nice house with a white picket fence.

Eventually, Goldie learned to accept fame as a part of her new life, and she says the key to living the publicized life of a film star was to take everything in stride. Otherwise, cautions Ms. Hawn, it’s easy to get an inflated ego and lose oneself in the intoxication of fame.

“The Academy Award—I was in bed. I forgot it was on television. [Hudson laughs] I just went to bed because I had a job to do. I forgot. And you know what? I’m really happy about that,” recalled Goldie Hawn. “And then my mom and dad called, and they were crying and happy and so proud of their daughter. And that made me cry.”

Goldie Hawn returns to the big screen in Snatched, which will see a May 12 theatrical release.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]