By SEAN DALY Special to the Daily Press
BEVERLY HILLS — There is a simple division of labor at the home of actress Kate Hudson and Black Crowes rocker Chris Robinson: she cooks, he cleans.
“The dishes will never happen for me,” the slender, blonde starlet reveals with laugh. So far, their arrangement seems to be working. It’s been just over two years since the couple’s secret New Year’s Eve wedding in Aspen, Colo. In that time, Hudson, 23, and Robinson, 12 years her senior, have managed to beat the odds despite demanding work and tour schedules and what she openly admits were a few early red flags.
“In the beginning, I definitely had some trust issues... you know, sex, drugs and rock and roll,” Hudson concedes in between puffs of an American Spirit cigarette. “But I got over that pretty fast.” So quickly in fact that Hudson — who once dated actor Eli Craig (the son of Sally Field) and pro hockey star Eric Lindros — was hooked after just one date.
It was a romantic night in Manhattan that included a stroll through Central Park, a shopping spree, and dinner at the upscale department store Barney's New York.
“They’re like some kind of great ’70s couple,” says pal Luke Wilson, Hudson’s costar in the upcoming comedy “Loosely Based on A True Love Story.” “They like to put music on and sing to each other. And they like drink red wine. They’re a great couple and she’s just got this great little spirit and I think people really respond to it."
Their courtship, Hudson recalls, was quick and to the point — “Every rule went out the window. We said ‘I love you’ in about four days and I moved in after a week” A risky move, as she later learned filming the new comedy “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days,” opening Friday.
Hudson plays magazine columnist Andie Anderson, who goes undercover and dates a rising advertising executive (Matthew McConaughey) to research an article about the many ways women unconsciously drive their men away. “We’re talking about things like buying him a little dog, bursting in on his poker night... and naming his penis,” she explains with a smile.
So Kate, do you have any pet names for your man’s private parts?
“That puppy doesn't need a name,” she announces without thinking, then immediately covers her face in embarrassment. “But I definitely have done things like calling somebody too much or writing somebody a letter telling them [too much] about how I feel.”
Not that Hudson was ever much of a dater. At Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, she says, “I was somebody who actually liked NOT being in relationships. I was okay being alone.” Hudson preferred to spend her time playing sports, participating in drama club activities and auditioning for movies. Among her closest friends was classmate Baron Davis, now a professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets. “I used to joke around and say, ‘You know, B, one day you’ll be out there playing pro ball and I’ll be sitting on the floor,’ and it actually happened. We both always knew what we wanted to do.”
For Hudson, the pieces began to fall into place with a guest appearance on the TV drama “Party of Five” in.1994. Six years later, she was nominated for both Golden Globe and Academy Awards for her portrayal of rock and roll “band-aide” Penny Lane in director Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous.” Hudson’s second-hand knowledge of the groupie lifestyle raised concerns at first when she began dating Robinson, but the actress quickly discovered “it was the other guys in the band that were into the chicks. I think Chris liked drugs better than he liked girls.”
You could say Hudson’s success in Hollywood is all in the genes. Relaxing in a beaded, vanilla-colored peasant blouse and hip-hugger Chic jeans, she is the spitting image of her mother, Oscar-winning actress Goldie Hawn. When schedules permit, mother and daughter enjoy afternoons together riding bikes, knitting and trying out new recipes. “I would love to be a grandmother,” Hawn said in October. “I’m not pushing the matter, but it would be so much fun.”
Hawn divorced Bill Hudson, her third husband in 1979, but was nevertheless excited when Hudson announced her intention to marry at the age of 21. “My parents are supportive of everything we want to do,” Hudson says, “so I don’t think they ever questioned it.” Nor did Hawn’s long-time companion, actor Kurt Russell, who has raised both Hudson and brother Oliver, 26, as his own children since 1983. Hudson says her “Pa” has a lot in common with her new husband: both are “opinionated, hard-working and put family first.”
Hudson took a year off from work in 2001 to spend time with her husband. She plans take another extended break and join him on tour after completing the upcoming Garry Marshall comedy “Raising Helen.” (Hudson says she also intends to quit smoking after the shoot.) “I love working with people who are early in their careers, when they’re still directable,” says “How To Lose” director Donald Petrie. “Kate’s amazing. She’s extremely talented — way beyond her years in sophistication and knowledge, and she’s really smart when it comes to comedy.”
She is also extremely happy to be out of the dating pool.
“I love being able to be a wife and make dinners and have Chris bring his friends over and make it nice for him,” she beams, flashing a simple gold wedding band. “It’s a nice thing for a man to feel that... and for me to feel that I can give him that.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 6, 2003. Read the original PDF.