Goldie Hawn: ‘I’m no Hollywood diva’
SHE’S one of Hollywoods most beloved stars. We spoke to Goldie Hawn on fame, family and why she’s reuniting with her The First Wives Club co-stars.
Stellar
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You’re coming to Melbourne next month. When was the last time you visited Australia?
It was years ago. I went for [the opening of] Warner Bros. Movie World. Clint Eastwood and I were there and we had a great time, but it was only like three days.
Movie World is on the Gold Coast, which we call the Goldie. How would you feel about being a mayor in Queensland?
Oh my god, you’re joking! You call the Gold Coast the Goldie? That is so crazy. I don’t know, maybe I will.
What can we expect from your Melbourne show A Night Of Laughs With Goldie?
Well, it will be a night of laughs and philosophy and fun. I will share things about my career and the people I’ve worked with. I hope to share my philosophy on family [including her grandson Wilder, pictured with Hawn] and how we relate to celebrities. I’ll be talking about building my ridiculous house that’s taken two and half years [laughs], and about my foundation, which is probably the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life.
As a part of The Hawn Foundation, you started the MindUP program 13 years ago to help kids manage stress. How has it grown since then?
We’ve got more than a million kids now at MindUP in eight countries, even some in Melbourne. Our children are doing beautifully. We’re managing stress for our kids and giving them the tools [they need] to have a happier life.
There are so many issues our children deal with. We think they’re just kids... but they are so stressed
Tell us a happy success story…
One boy in London was having a real problem in school. Children come to school with a lot of problems and we don’t even know what they are. This little one had serious parental problems and he was aggressive, angry, disruptive and unhappy. After the program, he became a changed boy. He was nine or 10 and the most beautiful child. He said if it wasn’t for the program, he wouldn’t be able to have the life he’s having now. I know many stories like that. There are so many issues our children deal with. We think they’re just kids, that they just play and go to school, but they are so stressed. When we are able to give them tools to recognise their own stress, it puts them in the driver’s seat.
You’ve filmed a mother-daughter comedy with Amy Schumer, which is due out next year. How did Schumer convince you to come out of your 15-year acting retirement?
It’s a great movie. She’s wonderful and I had a blast with her. It was great to be funny again. It was very creative and it was fun creating comedy with someone else who had the same comedic DNA as me. We knew when things worked and when they didn’t.
Has there been any sibling rivalry between Schumer and your real-life daughter, Kate Hudson?
No. We all played together. We took a boat out and had a wonderful time. These girls are too old now to have sibling rivalry [laughs]. I can be a mother to anybody I want!
You struggled with your rapid rise to fame, suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. Were you worried when your children [Kate and Oliver Hudson, and Wyatt Russell] followed in your acting footsteps?
Well, children; they will or they won’t. If we worked in the steel mills during that time, then our kids would probably be working in the steel mills. Films are our industry here in Hollywood and that is what the kids grew up seeing. All that Kurt [Russell, her partner] and I ever hoped for was that they would do well and have fun. But we never encouraged them. That’s just the life they knew.
Do you think it’s harder to become famous nowadays?
No, I think it’s easier to be famous now; it just doesn’t always last as long.
Honey, none of us are divas. We come from a different generation. We’re workers
It’s been 20 years since The First Wives Club. Have conditions for women in Hollywood improved in that time?
Sometimes you think it has and sometimes you think it hasn’t. It just has to do with the circumstance you’re in. Look, we do our jobs as well as we can. We try to push the ceiling a little bit higher. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. I can’t make a general statement that we’ve come a long way now. I’m always baffled to understand why sometimes women don’t get paid as much as men.
You’re reuniting with your FWC co-stars Diane Keaton and Bette Midler for the Netflix comedy Divanation. Who is the biggest diva out of the three of you?
Oh gosh, honey, none of us are divas. We come from a different generation. We’re workers – we might as well be on our hands and knees scrubbing a floor. We’re mothers. We take care of a lot of things. We produce. We go on the road. A diva is only a diva when they’re insecure – and we don’t have insecurities.
You have about 600,000 followers on Instagram. Are you the coolest grandma in the world?
I have no idea [laughs]. I don’t think I am anything in the world other than Goldie.
You’re finally getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year. What do accolades like that mean to you? Well I love it because Kurt and I are doing it at the same time. I didn’t want to be one without Kurt and he didn’t want to be one without me. They came to us separately so we said; we’ll do it if we can do it together.
Originally published as Goldie Hawn: ‘I’m no Hollywood diva’
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