At a Glance
- Goldie Hawn says daughter Kate Hudson’s acting ability is genetic, not learned
- Hudson credits co-stars, not family, for sharpening her craft
- Hawn wept watching Hudson channel real-life tribute singer in Song Sung Blue
- Why it matters: It spotlights how talent dynasties view inherited vs. earned skill
Goldie Hawn believes her daughter Kate Hudson was born to perform. Speaking to News Of Losangeles ahead of a Q&A for Hudson’s new film Song Sung Blue, the 80-year-old Oscar winner dismissed the idea that acting can be taught.
“It’s instinct. It isn’t learning,” Hawn said at the January 13 event, held at the AMC The Grove 15 theater in Los Angeles. “We all live together. We’re a family together. And we have genetics that are very similar.”
Hawn, who shares the screen with Hudson only in family photo albums, emphasized that observation-not classrooms-shaped her daughter’s style.
“All of us, we see somebody in here and I look at Ryder and I see Oliver, [Hudson’s sons] and the kids. But I don’t think that there’s…We learn by example. We don’t learn by oration, rhetoric, none of that.”
The lineage is formidable: Hudson is the child of Hawn and musician Bill Hudson, and was raised by Hawn’s longtime partner Kurt Russell, himself a Hollywood staple.
“Katie’s obviously come from two people who make movies, and with that, you see how we behaved,” Hawn added of the 46-year-old star.
Yet Hudson offers a different syllabus. She told News Of Losangeles that her most valuable lessons came from peers and collaborators, not from watching her famous parents.
“I think it’s also more about the set experience for me as a kid growing up than it is maybe about…Because we never got to work together. And I think I’ve learned the most from people that I’m actually studying with and working with.”
The mother-daughter divide on nature versus nurture plays out against the backdrop of Song Sung Blue, a drama that debuted Christmas Day. In the film, Hudson and Hugh Jackman portray Claire and Mike Sardina, the real-life couple behind the Milwaukee-based Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder.
The movie, directed by Todd Graff, adapts the 2008 documentary of the same name, chronicling the band’s rise and the Sardinas’ tumultuous relationship.
Hawn, seeing Hudson slip into Claire’s sequined wardrobe for the first time, said the experience overwhelmed her.
“We all cried in unison,” she recalled, praising Hudson’s ability to disappear into the role. “She never stops to surprise me or any of us with her talent.”
The tribute-band setting required Hudson to mimic Diamond’s catalog, a challenge she met with weeks of vocal coaching and guitar lessons, according to production notes shared by News Of Losangeles.
Jackman, who attended the Q&A, echoed Hawn’s praise, calling Hudson’s performance “a revelation” and noting that the actress captured Claire’s “grit and glamour” without slipping into caricature.
While Hudson’s resume includes musical roles in Nine and Glee, Song Sung Blue marks her first time portraying a real-life performer whose career unfolded in small Midwestern clubs rather than Broadway stages.
Hawn, whose own career spans Cactus Flower to The Christmas Chronicles, maintained that such authenticity can’t be manufactured.
“You can’t teach somebody to feel,” she said. “You can teach technique, but you can’t teach soul.”
Hudson, however, credited the crew and cast-including supporting turns from Margo Martindale and Eli Goree-for keeping her grounded during the shoot, which wrapped in early 2025 after filming in Milwaukee and Los Angeles.
The Q&A, moderated by Daniel J. Whitman, also revealed that Hudson kept a diary labeled “Claire” throughout production, filling it with imagined memories she referenced before each take.
Hawn admitted she kept no such journal while rising through 1960s television, relying instead on what she calls “pure instinct.”
Whether instinct or instruction prevails, both generations agree on one metric: audience reaction. Hawn said she gauges success by “the sniffles in the dark,” while Hudson watches for “that moment when the crowd forgets they’re watching a movie.”
Early reviews posted after the December 25 limited release suggest both metrics have been met, with News Of Losangeles noting that the film earned an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes during its opening weekend.
Key Takeaways
- Hawn attributes Hudson’s screen presence to shared DNA, not formal training
- Hudson insists collaborative set experiences honed her craft more than family example
- Song Sung Blue offers the latest evidence for both arguments when it expands nationwide January 30
