Kate Hudson is reflecting on her career after her second Oscar nomination, 25 years after her first Academy Award nomination.
Last month, the 46-year-old star was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in the 2025 biographical musical drama “Song San Bleu.”
Hudson broke out in the 2000 comedy-drama Almost Famous, and was nominated for her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2001.
On February 12, Hudson attended the 28th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards at Ebell in Los Angeles to accept the Spotlight Award, which recognizes actors whose careers have demonstrated an enduring commitment to excellence and a deep appreciation for the art of costume design. In an interview with Fox News Digital on the red carpet, Hudson reflected on the advice she would give her younger self.
“I think giving advice to my younger self would be like downplaying all the decisions I made that were also good ones. Even the mistakes and challenging decisions I made have shaped everything I am now, so I wouldn’t go back and do anything different,” she said.
But looking back, Hudson, who has had many iconic fashion moments on screen, realized she had one regret in her career.
“You asked me what I was going to change, and I was going to say keep more clothes!” she told Fox News Digital.
The next day, Hudson won another honor for her acting career at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Hudson’s longtime friend, presented Hudson with the Arlington Award after discussing her career with The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg on stage.
In an interview with FOX News Digital ahead of the event at the Arlington Theater, Hudson expressed his excitement at winning the award and reflecting on his career at the event, which featured clips from all of his past projects.
“We came a little early so we could experience a little bit of Santa Barbara,” she said. “It’s so beautiful here. I love it here. And I’m so happy. I mean, this is exciting. Tonight I get to look back at a lot of the movies I’ve made, and yeah, it’s going to be really, really interesting to see them all. And I love the love that ‘Son Son Bleu’ is getting, and we love this movie. This whole experience has been amazing because it touched so many people’s hearts.”
Hudson also reflected on her own experience of how navigating awards season as an Oscar nominee was different than the first time around.
“I kind of empathized with having a third child,” the actress said.
Hudson has a son, Ryder Robinson, 21, with her ex-husband, Black Crowes lead singer Chris Robinson. She has son Bingham Horne Bellamy, 14, with her ex-fiancé, Muse frontman Matt Bellamy, and Lani Rose Hudson Fujikawa, 7, with her fiancé, musician Danny Fujikawa.
“It’s like you’re taking everything differently,” she continued. “Immersed in that, there’s also all the relationships I’ve built over the years, people I know and love, spending a lot of time together and working together. So the room feels a lot more welcoming than it did when I was 21.”
“I was so young, you know?” Hudson added, “I was really just starting my career and it was a new room for me. And now I’m able to go to these parties and celebrate my friends. It feels different, for sure.”
Hudson talked about how her three children reacted to her Oscar nomination in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“They know I’m busy and they’re excited,” she said. “The older kids are so excited about me, and I think Lani loves seeing every outfit I leave the house with.”
“And she said, ‘Oh, what is that, mom? What is that?'” But they’re excited,” she said.
When Paltrow arrived at the event, the “Shakespeare in Love” star and Hudson shared a warm embrace and posed together on the red carpet. Once inside the Arlington Theater, Hudson took the stage and had a lengthy Q&A with Feinberg in front of a packed audience.
During the conversation, Hudson recalled words of wisdom her father, Kurt Russell, gave her after losing at the 2001 Academy Awards to Marcia Gay Harden, who won an Oscar for her performance in “Pollock.” Hudson’s biological father is musician Bill Hudson, 76, and he was married to his mother Goldie Hawn, 80, from 1976 to 1982. Bill and Horne also have a son, Oliver, 49.
Hudson and Oliver were primarily raised by their mother, Hawn, and her partner of 43 years, Kurt Russell, 74, and Hudson has publicly said that Hawn is like a father figure to her.
“I lost, but it all happened so fast. My dad just turned to me. He was down by a few points, and Kurt just said, ‘Congratulations, you can make a career out of this,'” Hudson recalled. “And I thought, ‘Oh, you’re right.’ That’s Kurt’s way of saying, ‘Welcome, this is what it is.’ Everything happens and it’s all over in an instant. ”
Hudson, who rose to stardom as the free-spirited “Band-Aid” Penny Lane in Almost Famous, has appeared in a string of hit romantic comedies, including 2003’s How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 2008’s Fool’s Gold, 2009’s Bride Wars and 2011’s Something Borrowed.
During her conversation with Feinberg, Hudson reflected on her status as rom-com queen and how she approaches projects in the genre.
“I think this is one of the most difficult genres to get right,” Hudson says.
She explained that when she stars in a romantic comedy, she goes into it “not with the intention of making a romantic comedy, but with the same intention as anyone would make a great movie.”
Hudson said that while romantic comedies are the basis of her fame, she actively seeks out roles that allow her to transform and challenge herself, noting that because she is widely known for romantic comedies, it can sometimes be difficult for filmmakers to see her play different types of roles.
“It was clear that the industry wanted to hire me, and my goal, my hope, was to make the best version of them,” she said. “At the time, it also felt like there were a lot of factors. You have a team and you have people who say, ‘We really think you should do this, they’re great directors.’ And then there are moments where you think, ‘That’s a lot of money, I’m a single mom.’ ”
Hudson continued, “Even though I’ve worked with top filmmakers and made hits, I was starting to really want to do something different. And I think when you get really famous in a genre, it’s hard for certain filmmakers to see you in anything other than what we see. Things like this, it’s like, ‘Well, transformation isn’t her job,’ but actually that’s what I want to do.”
She went on to explain that “Song Sung Blue” gave her that opportunity and felt like the beginning of a new phase in her career. The actress, who has also been nominated for a Golden Globe, BAFTA and Best Actor award, emphasized that her choices are not influenced by awards, but by stories that move audiences and challenge herself as an artist.
Based on a true story, Son San Bleu stars Hudson as Claire “Thunder” Sardina and Hugh Jackman as Mike “Lightning” Sardina, who played in the Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder. Hudson sang on screen in the film and was widely praised by critics for both her acting and singing.
Hudson has previously embarked on a music career, releasing her debut studio album, Glorious, in May 2024, which charted on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. In a conversation with Feinberg, Hudson recalled that she had long wanted to pursue music, but had been warned that it could jeopardize her career as an actress.
“I always thought of music as something I would do, but at the time I was like, ‘Okay, don’t destroy what’s not broken.’ This idea of career crossover could have been the kiss of death,” she said. “It’s like a warning, like, ‘Enjoy your career, enjoy this part for now.'”
Hudson recalled feeling particularly discouraged after telling someone she wanted to make an album when she was in her 30s.
“They said, ‘You’re too old, you’re a little too old to do music or have a music career,'” she recalled.
“He wasn’t wrong,” Hudson admitted. “That weighed heavily on me. Then finally COVID-19 happened and I thought, ‘If I don’t do it, I’ll regret it. I have to do it.'”
“So I did it and I couldn’t believe the response,” she recalled. “It was so warm and loving and loved. And I thought, ‘Why haven’t I done this before?'”
Ms. Hudson also shared her thoughts on what’s next as her award-winning career opens new doors.
“All of a sudden, we don’t want to do this because of this award concept. We also want to do this to get people into the theater,” she said. “This feels like the beginning of where we can probably make a little bit more change than we have in the past.”
After their conversation, Paltrow took to the stage to present Hudson with the Arlington and gave a heartfelt speech about her longtime friend.
“We’ve spent a lot of life together and lived a lot of chapters together. Married to a musician, plural. We had expats in London, we had a baby, we redecorated our house. And, oh, on her 30th birthday, I had a big drink. On my 40th birthday, I think we all drank a lot,” Paltrow joked as the audience laughed and cheered.
Paltrow, who won the Best Actress Oscar in 1999 for her role as Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love, talked about her reaction after seeing Hudson in Song Saint Bleu.
“When it was over, I FaceTimed you and I cried because I was not only so proud of your skills and talent, but also because I felt like you finally had a role that showed all that you’re capable of,” she said.
