Goldie Hawn's golden moments: Celebrating the Hollywood legend as she turns 75

By Suzanne Wintrob

By Suzanne Wintrob

This piece was adapted from one that originally appeared in Issue 741 of HELLO! Canada. To read the full piece, pick up the issue, on newsstands now!

Laughter has certainly defined Goldie Hawn's life, both as a Hollywood icon and as a devoted partner, mother and grandmother.

The gal who rose to fame in her 20s playing the quintessential ditzy blond in the popular 1960s sketch show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and was the era's "It" girl is still captivating audiences as she turns 75.

This month, she reprises her role as Mrs. Claus alongside Kurt Russell's Santa in Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles 2.

While comedy is what made Goldie a star, it wasn't on her radar growing up in Maryland as the younger daughter of a working mom and musician father.

"I wanted to be a prima ballerina or a Broadway chorus girl, but never the goofy, crazy Goldie Hawn most people think of today," she wrote in her 2005 memoir, Goldie: A Lotus Grows in the Mind. "That comedy just happened, unintentionally, and I think it all began with a desire to be liked and to fit in. Well, that and the fact that some people just seem to look at my face and laugh."

Scroll through the gallery (or click through if you're on desktop) for a look back at Goldie's golden moments as she turns 75!

Photos: © Getty Images

Born on Nov. 21, 1945, Goldie Jeanne Hawn started dancing through life as a child and decided she wanted to be a star after appearing as Clara in The Nutcracker at age 11. Her dad, Rut Hawn, was in a band and encouraged her musical talent. She's seen at left with him in 1960.

Photo: © Joseph Klipple/Getty Images

She was named Goldie after her great-aunt, but the other kids teased her, calling her Goldilocks. When she confessed to her mother, Laura, that she hated her name, she got an earful.

"I called you Goldie after the woman who meant the most to me in my life," her mom replied. "I also gave you that name because I knew nobody would ever forget it."

Laura would appear in two of Goldie's films: Swing Shift and Deceived.

Photo: © Joseph Klipple/Getty Images

Goldie ran her own ballet school in Washington, D.C. before trying her luck in New York City. She's seen at left at age 19.

Photo: © Joseph Klipple/Getty Images

In 1966, the pixie-coiffed funny girl and her beloved dog, Lambchop (left in the split-screen image), relocated to California, where she landed a role on TV's Good Morning World. She's seen on set with Ronnie Schell in the image in the right.

"Lambchop helped me through my early troubled years of success," she said.

Photo: © Joseph Klipple/Getty Images

Goldie was the one two watch - literally – in the hippie era. As Laugh-In's go-go dancer, her body was etched with signs of the times.

Photo: © Bettmann/Getty Images

In 1970, at 23, Goldie won an Oscar for Cactus Flower with Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman. Goldie was in London filming with Peter Sellers, so Raquel Welch (right, with best supporting actor Gig Young) accepted on her behalf.

Photo: © Bettmann/Getty Images

When Goldie - then pregnant with daughter Kate Hudson – was offered the chance to co-produce as well as star in 1980's Private Benjamin, it boosted her career confidence. She's seen in a still from the film with co-star Mary Lou Glass at left.

"I didn't plan on becoming a producer... I only wanted to create better roles for myself," she later said.

Photo: © Warner Bros/Archive Photos/Getty Images

At 39, twice-divorced Goldie couldn't believe her luck when she reconnected with an actor six years her junior while filming 1984's Swing Shift.

"A miracle appened. Kurt Russell was sent to us by God. Here was a grown man who was capable of loving fully, with all of his heart."

They went on to co-star in 1987's Overboard. Their baby, Wyatt, took his first steps on-set.

In the 1990s, Goldie dazzled opposite fellow legends like Meryl Streep in Death Becomes Her and in The First Wives Club with Diane Keaton and Bette Midler. She disproved her line in that film: "There are only three ages for women in Hollywood: Babe, District Attorney and Driving Miss Daisy."

Meditation and mindfulness have helped Goldie through difficult times. Her global MindUp program – funded through the Goldie Hawn FOundation – helps children manage stress and anxiety by teaching skills and mindfulness. She's seen at left at her 2014 Love In For Kids fundraiser. Her 10 Mindful Minutes book and journal encourage mindfulness practices.

"Glam-ma," as son Oliver once dubbed her, took a hiatus in 2002 to rediscover herself.

In 2017, she returned as Amy Schumer's mom in Snatched.

After 37 years, Goldie and Kurt continue to delight one another, both at work and at play. They're seen left at their double star Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2017.

Goldie is very close with her lookalike daughter, actress Kate Hudson, 41. When Kate was pregnant with son Ryder, now 16, she felt sad and asked her mom why.

"Mom's like 'Because the second they leave your body, they don't belong to you anymore.' I think that was the most powerful thing she's ever said to me."

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