Kate Hudson

 ( 1979 Births ) 

Her breakthrough came with the role of a veteran groupie in Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical dramedy Almost Famous (2000). She "hung in and had turned down leads in other movies just to play the part" and soon obtained it "because of her loyalty", according to Crowe. For her performance, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 58th Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 73rd Academy Awards. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "This power ballad of a movie also happens to be Crowe's greatest (and most personal) film thanks to the golden gods of Stillwater and their biggest fan, Kate Hudson's incomparable Penny Lane." She worked hard in avoiding association with her well-known parents, as she did not want to be perceived as someone who "rode on somebody's coattails".

The film was panned by critics and had a lukewarm box office response. In her next film, the romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Hudson starred with Matthew McConaughey, as a writer for a women's magazine who, for an article, starts dating a guy and trying to drive him away using only the "classic mistakes women make" in relationships. The film was a box office success, grossing over US$100 million upon its release. She also starred opposite Naomi Watts in the Merchant-Ivory film Le Divorce (2003), portraying a woman who, with her sister, dispute the ownership of a painting by Georges de La Tour with the family of her former brother-in-law. Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "C" rating and wrote: "I'm disappointed to report that Hudson and Watts have no chemistry as sisters".Her next romantic comedies, Alex & Emma (2003), in which she played a stubborn stenographer, and Raising Helen (2004), taking on the role of a young woman who becomes the guardian of her deceased sister's children, were released to varying degrees of success.

In 2005, Hudson starred in the supernatural thriller The Skeleton Key, as a young hospice nurse who acquires a job at a New Orleans plantation home, and becomes entangled in a supernatural mystery involving the house. In its review, The Washington Post, describing her, wrote: "Hudson, who dials back her native, Goldie-given charm here to give Caroline a no-nonsense brusqueness, manages to convincingly convey a fearless bullheadedness rather than less sympathetic naivete". The film was a box office hit, grossing over US$91.9 million worldwide ($47.9 million in North America).

Her next film, the comedy You, Me and Dupree, in which she appeared with Owen Wilson and Matt Dillon as one half of a couple who allows an unemployed friend to move in, grossed US$21.5million on its opening weekend of July 14, 2006. It eventually made US$130.4 million worldwide.

In 2007, Hudson directed the short film Cutlass, one of Glamour magazine's "Reel Moments" based on readers' personal essays, which starred Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Virginia Madsen, Chevy Chase and Kristen Stewart.

In the romantic comedy Fool's Gold (2008), her second film with Matthew McConaughey, Hudson took on the role a divorced woman who returns with her former husband while searching for a lost treasure. She was certified in scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef for the underwater scenes. The film made US$111.2 million worldwide. In My Best Friend's Girl, another romantic comedy released in 2008, Hudson played the colleague of an amiable guy (Jason Biggs). Despite negative reviews, it was a moderate commercial success.

Hudson starred in Bride Wars (2009), alongside Anne Hathaway, playing two best friends who become rivals after their weddings are scheduled on the same day. The film was named among the 10 worst of all time by Time in 2010, but was successful financially, grossing US$114.6 million globally. Her next film was the musical Nine, directed by Rob Marshall, in which she played a Vogue fashion journalist, alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, and Judi Dench. The film was acclaimed by critics and Hudson garnered praise for her dancing skills, showcased in a 1960s-inspired original piece called "Cinema Italiano", which was written specifically for her character.

In 2012, Hudson was cast on the Fox teen comedy series Glee, in the recurring role of Cassandra July, a dance teacher at the fictitious New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts.

In 2013, Hudson appeared in the political thriller The Reluctant Fundamentalist, as a photographer and the girlfriend of a professor at the University of Lahore. In 2014, she starred in the comedy Wish I Was Here, as the wife of a struggling actor, and the thriller Good People, as one half of a couple who fall into severe debt while renovating their family's home. The aforementioned films received a limited release and mixed reviews from critics.

In Rock the Kasbah (2015), Hudson played a top-hatted hooker with a heart of gold who befriends a has-been actor manager (Bill Murray) in Afghanistan. Despite a US$15-million budget, the film made just US$3 million at the North American box office.

Hudson voiced a crazy ribbon-dancing panda in the DreamWorks Animation film Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), which grossed US$521.1 million globally, and became her most widely seen film. She starred as a woman married to an Indian man and the sister of a lesbian woman, both of whom had not told their conservative parents, in the romantic comedy Mother's Day (2016), directed by Garry Marshall and opposite Julia Roberts, Timothy Olyphant, and Jason Sudeikis. The film was panned by critics and a moderate commercial success. She next played the wife of a chief electronics technician (Mark Wahlberg) in the drama Deepwater Horizon, based on the Deepwater Horizon explosion. While critical response was positive, the film was only slightly profitable, making US$121.8 million on a budget of around US$110 million.

In the 2017 film Marshall, Hudson portrayed an employer accusing her black chauffeur of rape. It received positive reviews from critics but found a limited audience in theaters.

In 2022, she starred alongside Michael Shannon in A Little White Lie directed by Michael Maren. Also in 2022, Hudson co-starred in , playing the role of Birdie Jay, a Manhattan supermodel turned fashion designer involved in a murder mystery.

Hudson signed a record deal with Virgin Music Group, and released her debut single, "Talk About Love" in January 2024. She wrote the song alongside her fiancée Danny Fujikawa and Linda Perry. She released the single "Live Forever" on March 28, 2024; the song was hailed by Rolling Stone as "a love letter to parents". Hudson followed with "Gonna Find Out", which was released on April 17, 2024. Hudson released her debut studio album, Glorious, on May 17, 2024. On August 28, 2024, Hudson released a cover of the 1985 'Til Tuesday single "Voices Carry".

In 2016, Hudson released her first book, Pretty Happy: Healthy Ways to Love Your Body.