Goldie Hawn: Leading Lady
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Next-Level Grandma: the positively bionic actress, Goldie Hawn, at home in Los Angeles with grandsons, Wilder and Bodhi, and their dog Benny. Photographed by Pamela Hanson for Porter magazine. |
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There are few people who can match the charismatic charm and likeable humour of legendary actress-producer, Goldie Hawn. This month, the leading lady opens up to Porter magazine about the art of raising a family, staying in love and being mindfulPhotographed by Pamela Hanson Whether at home meditating or baking cookies with three of her five grandchildren, Goldie Hawn is the picture of timeless beauty; a sunny personality who seems to exude carefree enthusiasm at every turn. This month, she talks passionately about family and The Hawn Foundation, a charitable cause she established with the purpose of bringing mindfulness to schools and teaching children how to better understand their emotions. Here, an exclusive excerpt:
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On whether it’s a better time to be a woman in Hollywood now than in the 70s and 80s:
- “We have made some strides, there’s no question. The relationship between men and women is definitely changing, but when you think that we only got to vote how many years ago? We’re still dealing with these kinds of paradigms. If you look at racial issues – I’m reading Truman’s autobiography at the moment – they were dealing with the very same situations that we’re dealing with today. It’s human nature to create these problems. Women are trying to find their own power inside relationships, too. You have to ask yourself, is there too much power? Do I hold too much power? Do I have more money than the other person?”
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On the decision of her children, Wyatt Russell and Kate Hudson, to follow her footsteps into the film industry:
- “What you prepare your children for is to be able to deal with differences, obstacles, ways of handling uncertainty. The truth is, it doesn’t matter what they would have chosen to do. Every business changes.”
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On fighting misconceptions while filming the TV series Laugh-In in the 70s:
- “I remember a reporter once came to me while I was doing Laugh-In. ‘Don’t you feel a little irresponsible because you’re playing a dumb blonde and this is a time when women are becoming liberated?’ I looked at her. I was 22 or 23. And I said, and I meant this, ‘I’m already liberated.’ I meant it because liberation doesn’t come from the outside. It comes from the inside.”
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On everybody wanting to be a star these days:
- “Today everybody wants to be a star. I think the big question is, why? The media has created this. You get to be somebody. The problem is, when you’re not somebody anymore, who are you? Because it’s the you inside that matters, not your job. I realize this all sounds very lofty, but it’s all the things that I have learned over… well, I learned them early. You need that kind of mindset and stability to be able to pass it on to your children.”
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On why she’s never tied the knot with Kurt Russell:
- “A lasting relationship isn’t about marriage. It’s about compatibility and communication. And you both need to want it to work. If one person does not want it to work, it isn’t going to work. Intention is the key. It’s also about not losing yourself in each other. Being together, two pillars holding up the house and the roof, and being different, not having to agree on everything, learning how to deal with not agreeing. Everything’s a choice.”
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On their shared bond of having a strong family unit:
- “(Kurt Russell) came from three sisters and a very strong family unit. I came from one sister and two parents and a big family unit. That’s what we care about. We talked about relationships and commonality early on. We had nannies, there’s no doubt about it. We’ve both been working. But we were very present with our children. It’s the same way we grew up. I had a working mother, Kurt did not. My mother was right there.”
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On why it’s important to teach children mindfulness:
- “The things we do early in life aren’t always what we will do later. You just keep growing, embracing change, being present with what is. We are the sum total of our life experiences – that’s what builds us; that’s who we become. If we don’t do any personal research or any personality and psychic excavation, we really aren’t growing, we’re only just existing. It is then that we become reactive. So we want to create more awareness in the classroom, more self-awareness and more awareness of others. We build empathy, we tell kids that they actually can help someone else. It gives them strength and purpose and connection with other humans.”
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- To read the full interview with Goldie Hawn, pick up the latest issue of Porter, on sale globally from Friday June 5, or
- available as a digital edition HERE.