Kate Hudson Talks With '20/20'

May 7, 2004 -- Kate Hudson appears on the red carpet as a fairy princess — blond hair shining like spun sugar while sharing her mother's lovely smile and plenty of that special something that turns actresses into award-winning movie stars.

"I'm just enjoying this right now," Kate Hudson says.

At just 25, Kate Hudson really does have it all. From fame and fortune, to Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell for parents, a marriage to rock star Chris Robinson and now a brand new baby boy. So what's on her mind these days?

"My focus is burps, poops, sleep time," said Hudson.

The burps, of course, belong to 4-month-old Ryder Russell Robinson. In New York last week to promote her latest film, Raising Helen, Hudson was literally racing to do this interview between breast feedings.

The former size two, said she had an amazing pregnancy, and gained 60 pounds, exclaiming, "I got huge!"

She said she's now back down to a size four, and regained her figure by working out two or three times a day.

Focus on Family

As a new mom and working actress, Hudson now inherits the struggle for balance between parenthood and movie stardom that her mom once navigated.

Hudson was raised as a child of Hollywood with the great Goldie Hawn for a mother, and beginning at age 3, actor Kurt Russell for a "Pa," as she calls him.

While both parents made dozens of films, Hudson said, family came first.

The family included Hudson and brother Oliver, the product of Goldie's marriage to musician Bill Hudson, as well as a step-brother and a half-brother.

"Sometimes I think it's more normal than most normal families," said Hudson. "That's all they ever wanted. You know, my mom always said that … It's the one thing that, if she failed, she would have never felt like she succeeded in her life … I have the same feeling now, with Ryder."

Rock ’n’ Roll Romance

Hudson had a strong family growing up, but one that did not include her biological father.

She said he wasn't around and didn't attend her wedding. "I wasn't angry at him. I was never angry at my father. You know, I think … I think sometimes it gets interpreted a little differently. Than the way I feel," said Hudson.

The experience left her with some of the relationship issues often experienced by daughters of absent fathers. "Once I hooked a guy, I'd … I'd be out of there. You know. Couldn't handle it. 'See you later.' Not … not … not too fond of intimacy," said Hudson.

So it was all the more surprising when she met and very quickly fell in love with rocker Chris Robinson, moving in with him four days later.

She was just 21 and starring in her breakout role as Penny Lane, the hardened but heartbroken rock groupie in Almost Famous. Robinson was 12 years older than she, singing with the Black Crows.

When they met, Hudson said he was a "mess," using drugs and alcohol.

"And then we met … and we took a walk, and he had on this black suede jacket, and he put it over my shoulders, and he smelled the jacket, and it just smelled like his life. And he just hated it … he stopped doing, you know, hard drugs," said Hudson. Before their wedding, she insisted he also give up alcohol.

She said he still smokes pot, but she has abstained for the past year and a half. "I just don't want to do that right now," said Hudson.

But she is busy singing lullabies to Ryder, including her own version of an Aerosmith song detailing her new son's pastime of pooping.

She admits to gaining some mothering skills while filming her new movie, Raising Helen. She plays a glamorous single girl whose life turns upside down when she is suddenly forced to become guardian of her orphaned nieces and nephew.

Hudson said the role gave her an inkling of what's to come in her life."A little bit, you know. It's the same thing as my mom telling me that, you know, wait till you hear 'mom' a hundred thousand times. 'Mom. Mom. Mom?' You know, that stuff," said Hudson.

For this Mother's Day, she has more than one message for Goldie.

"I have so many Mother's Day messages for my mother … there's so much to learn from her, you know? It's just endless,' said Hudson. "She just creates this energy around her that is so magnetic, you know. And with everything that she is — the most important thing [is] being a mom."