Goldie Hawn

Background

Goldie Hawn was born in Washington, D.C. on November 21, 1945, to Laura Steinhoff, the owner of a jewelry shop and a dance school, and Edward Rutledge Hawn, a band musician who performed at major events in Washington. Her name was inspired by her mother’s aunt. Her father was a Presbyterian of English and German ancestry, and her mother was Jewish, the daughter of Hungarian emigrants. Hawn grew up Jewish in Takoma Park, Maryland, and attended Montgomery Blair High School in nearby Silver Spring.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Hawn began her acting career on television. For her performance in the 1969 “Cactus Flower,” she was nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Best Supporting Actress.’ Hawn was regarded as the 1960s’ “it girl” due to her upbeat demeanor and appearance in a bikini. Beginning with “There’s a Girl in My Soup” in 1970, “$” in 1971, and “Butterflies Are Free,” Hawn starred in a string of successful and above-average comedies. She appeared in Hal Ashby’s classic satire “Shampoo” in 1975 and as a lead in “Private Benjamin” in 1976.

Hawn graced the cover of “Playboy” magazine in January 1985. She also appeared for the third time with Kurt Russell in the comedy “Overboard” in 1987. Hawn reteamed with former co-stars Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton for the comedy “Town & Country” in 2001. She also appeared in the film “The Banger Sisters,” alongside Susan Sarandon and Geoffrey Rush.

“A Lotus Grows in the Mud,” Hawn’s autobiography, was published in 2005. In 2013, she appeared as the voice of neighbor Peggy McGee in an episode of “Phineas and Ferb,” alongside Gordon Ramsay. For the first time since 2002, Hawn returned to the big screen in 2017, co-starring in the comedy “Snatched” with Amy Schumer, playing mother and daughter, respectively. She appeared as Mrs. Claus in the Netflix film “The Christmas Chronicles” in 2018, and she reprised her role as Mrs. Claus in the 2020 sequel “The Christmas Chronicles 2.”