Kate Hudson speaks about the ’41-year-old issue’ of estrangement from her father

2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

You might remember that I’m something of a longtime Kate Hudson apologist. It’s not even that I like her as an actress – meh – or I like the fact that she’ll get all dressed up to attend every award show every year for no reason. But I do like that Kate Hudson isn’t a whiner. She’s never “woe is me, my life is so hard.” I appreciate that. I also appreciate the fact that she’s pretty real about how motherhood is great except for all of those times when she wishes her kids would disappear so she could have some peace and quiet. Well, Kate chatted with Sunday Today about her life, her kids and her father (Bill Hudson) and the man who raised her (Kurt Russell).

On having three kids with three men: “I’ve got multiple dads, I’ve got kids all over the place! The only expectations I really have that are really high in my life is with my kids, and with family stuff. Other than that, it’s like, I just let it go… I work my ass off, and then I walk away, and I hope for the best.”

The COVID-19 pandemic. “I wanna be, like, ‘Yeah, it’s so great and we’re figuring out,’ but the reality is that there are days that are great and there are days that I have to remind myself to be grateful. I never thought in a million years that I’d spend a year in one place. When you have so many kids, sometimes you have those moments where you’re hiding in your bathroom going, ‘Please, please, get me out of here!’ I just remind myself there’s a lot of people out there who have lost their loved ones, and we just gotta stay in for a bit.”

On her estrangement from Bill Hudson: “I think that estrangement is unfortunately quite common. I think it’s important for people to talk about that. If they can’t reconnect or if it’s too challenging, that it’s OK, right? [It’s] a 41-year-old issue. I have a beautiful mother. I have a stepfather who stepped in and played a huge, huge part in sharing what it is to have a dependable father figure in our life. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that we didn’t know our dad. I think as I’ve sort of gone through that process…I kind of look at my dad and I’m, like, ‘You know, the love has never ever gone anywhere. It’s always been there, no matter what those complications have been.”

[From Glamour]

I’ve always been curious about her estrangement from Bill Hudson too, because Oliver (Kate’s brother) is deeply estranged from him as well, and Goldie left Bill when Oliver and Kate were just babies. CB pointed out that when Bill Hudson does speak about Kate and Oliver, it’s extremely negative, and in 2015, he even said Kate and Oliver are dead to him. I tend to think that Kate and Oliver just accepted Kurt Russell as their dad from the word go and never really bothered to really seek out any kind of reconciliation. Which is their right. As for Kate and her house full of kids, ranging in ages… did you know that Ryder Robinson just turned 17 years old? Jesus!! He seems like a good kid though. I love how sweet he is to his baby sister.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and Instagram.

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23 Responses to “Kate Hudson speaks about the ’41-year-old issue’ of estrangement from her father”

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  1. Mignionette says:

    Every year Kate and her brother leave a scathing message for their father on Instagram.

    It shows how utterly devastated they both still are by his rejection and absence.

    • H says:

      They praise Kurt Russell every year on Father’s Day. I think Kurt is a POS to his ex-wife (prior to Goldie) and he’s got questionable political ties, but was he a good stepfather? Seems that way. I never understood why Bill left his kids in the divorce. You leave a spouse, not children.

      • Tiffany says:

        Bill was trying to profit off his relationship with them, I think.

        Wasn’t there suppose to be a book about his time with Goldie and that left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth?

    • MM2 says:

      Every year both Kate & Oliver leave scathing ig messages?! Let me know if I missed something, but it was Oliver who left one ig message years ago about abandonment & Kate has not posted anything except praise for Kurt (which their bio-dad considers scathing to him, but it’s not).

  2. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    First, three kids isn’t having, “so many kids,” lmao. I do, however, enjoy her take on life as I’ve always enjoyed her parents together. Hell, I’ve been watching Goldie and Kurt since Kurt was doing Disney. They’re mildly thirsty as most celebrities have a permanent place on that sliding scale of perceived relevance, but it’s palatable.

    I do understand age ranges however!

  3. Tiffany says:

    Wow, Ryder looks just like his Dad.

    • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

      I’m thinking Ryder looks JUST like a young Eddie Van Halen in that pic!! Wow.. to me, it’s almost identical!

  4. Ariel says:

    I recall (it was probably an E True Hollywood story or something) Kate talking about her father’s absence, with the example of, i don’t care where you are- you call your kids on their f***** birthdays. Which apparently he did not.
    And to think of how hurtful and disappointing that was to those children, that their dad didn’t even call to wish them happy birthday!?!?

    Then there was an interview with him (Bill Hudson) who talked about how he was the big star, and his star was waning as Goldie’s was rising, and he was a has been, and it was hurtful (to his ego) that he could not give Kate and Oliver the $$$ things that Goldie could. And that was part of his abandoning them.
    Which makes sense, but it not okay. He did not “man up” as they say.
    But i appreciated understanding the context of men and their fragile egos.

    • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

      “…and it was hurtful (to his ego) that he could not give Kate and Oliver the $$$ things that Goldie could.”

      Uhm… I dunno… my dad would give my sister and me the very last crumb of bread he’d have to eat, and do without himself. THAT is what a parent does for their kid(s). I remember one birthday, money was VERY, VERY tight, yet MY DAD took me to a record store and let me pick out a 45 (yes, I am that old! lol) because he wanted me to have something I wanted, and that was all he could afford to do…BUT HE DID IT, to give me joy. Didn’t cost more than a dollar, but to a kid, being taken out w/dad for something “special”, it was gold. I’m 50 yrs. past that birthday, and I STILL remember it as a special day with my dad!

      Hudson is a selfish, narcissistic a$$. End of.

      • Ariel says:

        I’m in total agreement, i just like understanding that people are not monsters most times, just weak, egotistical, etc. And it can rule one’s whole life.

    • MissMarierose says:

      Bill Hudson is just a narcissistic POS all around.

      Penny Marshall wrote in her autobiography that Cindy Williams made a bunch of demands that eventually lead to her leaving Laverne & Shirley because Hudson started influencing her to think that the Marshalls were against Cindy. Penny wrote that she tried calling Cindy to talk it over without the intermediaries, but Hudson got in between them.
      Penny blamed Hudson for the estrangement between her and Cindy for many years thereafter.

      • Holly hobby says:

        Didn’t Cindy divorce him? I seem to recall they separated. Yeah I remember Cindy’s abrupt departure from Laverne and Shirley and how the show died soon after.

        I wonder if bill talks to the girls he had with Cindy.

  5. MM2 says:

    People don’t talk about estrangement enough, and how it can be the healthier & wiser option for people. Kate’s biofather is still using the press to be emotionally abusive & trash his children, which in turn must effect their children (see link in story above). We tell people that the only healthy relationship with an abusive narcissist is estrangement, but we also want everyone to be close to their families & side-eye “their part” when they are not. We should do better when we know abuse is rampant in our society.
    Kudos to Goldie for leaving that man & giving her kids a better life without his constant drip, drip, drip of toxicity.

    • Stef says:

      I totally agree with you, well said.

      Sometimes, estrangement is the only option for toxic family relationships and that’s OK.

  6. Lizzythe2 says:

    Is this in reference to Kurt or Bill? – I kind of look at my dad and I’m, like, ‘You know, the love has never ever gone anywhere. It’s always been there, no matter what those complications have been.” – Because if it is about Bill, it does not make sense because of their messages on Father’s day. If the comment is about Bill and she truly does love him she would at least say Happy Father’s day. So I’m thinking it’s about Kurt. Thoughts? Anyone? Kind of confused about this.

    • megs283 says:

      I was confused too, but I’m pretty sure she’s talking about Bill. She refers to Kurt as her stepfather, and then in regard to Bill, says “we didn’t know our dad.” So it seems like she calls Bill her dad, and that she will always love him at some level despite the reality of their relationship.

  7. GuestwithCat says:

    Wasn’t her dad also married to Cindy Williams, who played Shirley on “Laverne and Shirley”? I think they also divorced. I’m wondering how he was in that relationship. He seemed to always blame Goldie for a lot. I wondered how he treated Cindy.

    Okay I just checked Wikipedia. Apparently his son, Kate’s brother; claims they finally reconciled in 2018. Bill Hudson himself has several kids with 3 different women. But it’s only an issue when his daughter does it? Hmm

    • MissMarierose says:

      I just wrote a comment up above before seeing yours. Penny Marshall blames Hudson for her estrangement with Cindy Williams.
      I think he can’t handle having a wife whose career is bigger than his so he damaged Cindy Williams’ career.

  8. Kelly says:

    Actually I have heard Oliver on a podcast note that he is repairing his relationship with his dad and they are doing fairly well it seems. I believe it was the Inside of You podcast.

    • Watson says:

      Yeah Oliver’s public post to Kate on Father’s day read: “Happy Abandonment Day!”. Apparently after that Bill and Oliver started texting. Not too sure if it became truly warm between them after the years of abandonment and bitterness but there was at least a brief reprieve.

  9. LL says:

    I’d also like to point out that Mark Hudson (Bill’s brother) does the music for Kate and Oliver’s podcast, Sibling Revelry, and they call him Uncle Mark. I’m not sure how close they are to him or when he came back into their life, but it definitely speaks volumes that they are still connected to him and not their father.