A Wednesday afternoon at The Savoy Hotel in London and Kate Hudson - who has recently launched her debut album - is in a suite practicing vocal exercises. As I wait to meet her in the drawing room, her trillings and chirpings come wafting through from the bedroom. It’s quite enchanting.
Kate’s visit to the UK is twofold; firstly she’s here to promote her new Mindy Kaling Netflix comedy series, Running Point in which she stars alongside Justin Theroux, Chet Hanks and Brenda Song. The show tells the story of an ‘overlooked woman’ Isla, (played by Kate) who, following a family scandal, becomes the surprising president of her family business, a basketball team named the Los Angeles Waves. “Ambitious and overlooked, Isla has to then prove to her sceptical brothers, the board and the larger sports community that she was the right choice for the job,” Netflix tells us in the promotional blurb and having seen the first two episodes, I can confirm that it’s a hilarious caper through the often sexist and misogynistic world of male-dominated basketball with a particularly amusing performance from Justin Theroux as her scandal-hit older brother.
Her character will fight back against the male-dominated world of sports.
Kate is also in London to promote the deluxe edition of her aforementioned debut album, Glorious. Hence the trilling.
Following numerous on-screen musical performances over the years (Almost Famous, Nine, Music) her debut album initially came out in May last year and Rolling Stone described it as “one of the most pleasant musical surprises of the year, a thoroughly grown-up and strikingly assured collection of guitar-heavy songs that tend to land somewhere between Adele and Sheryl Crow.” And it really is a lovely album, and it's clear that Kate is taking her newfound role as a musician seriously and I say as much and I comment on the singing we've just been privy to…
“Oh, the vocal exercises,” she says laughing. “You know what I noticed is, because this past year was the first time I really ever sang live. And then I recognised that I would always wonder when people would be like, “Oh, I'm on vocal rest,”…And then I realise, I'm like, I have to go on vocal rest! You really do have to stop talking! And for those of us who love to talk, like myself, I was like, oh my God, this is so hard. Yeah. But I had to shut her down for a couple of days because when you're singing that loud, it's wild!”
Luckily, Kate was not on vocal rest for her visit to London and we for a GLAMOUR Unfiltered interview in which we discussed - amongst other things - nepo babies, sexism, being empowered by Sia and what she learned from her mum, Goldie Hawn…
Your character Isla faces a lot of sexism in Running Point - do you think that is an accurate portrayal of the sexism that exists in the sporting world?
‘I don't think I'm the right person to speak to that, because I don't live in the sporting world. But I do know that it makes for great comedy, and that it's really exciting to see more women taking leadership positions in men's sports, and women's sports getting this big influx of attention and all of the things that it deserves.
‘As far as this show's concerned, this is a very loosely based show on Jeanie Buss ... the president of the Lakers and owner of the Lakers, and her life, sometimes she's like, you can't write this stuff. But she just loved Mindy Kaling's writing on the American The Office, and went to her about six years ago with this idea…Jeanie loves to laugh, has a great sense of humour and was like, "I think you should take this idea and loosely base it on my life, but make it a fun comedy."
So we really leaned into things that aren't necessarily her experience but it's really fun. And more than even just sexism in a male workplace, it's really about a family dynamic of the only girl in a family of boys. Which is very challenging, as I know personally growing up with three brothers and no sisters. Even though I have a sister, I didn't grow up with them. It's a lot. It's really a lot and awesome. Also, you got to yell to be heard by your brothers, wanting their validation, it not coming very easily. That's a big part of what the show's really about, is that dynamic.
It gave me Succession vibes.
Not as serious as Succession, but definitely that kind of feeling of family business and really high stakes, big franchise. Sports is such a fun world, but the shows aren't really about basketball. It's like any sports world, even though it's set in basketball. Yeah, high stakes, big business, can she do it? And then just put us in insane situations and laugh for 30 minutes.
In the first episode, Isla has to deal with accusations of being a nepo baby. As the daughter of famous parents (actors Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson) how do you feel about the term nepo baby?
Apparently statistically most people go into the family business. So whatever that family business is, is actually statistically where you end up. So I guess statistically most people are nepo babies! Look, we live in a time where I think it [the term] started as a way to undermine people that I actually see as really talented artists who grew up with storytellers and artists in their family, to undermine their success. But it's actually become this funny word that I don't think anybody really minds. But to me, real nepotism isn't in the arts. Nepotism is in business, that's where it gets weird. With the arts, you can say whatever you want, but you are either going to like what someone does or you're not going to like it. You're going to like their movie or you're not. You're going to like their painting or you're not. It's subjective, art is subjective. But business, that's where it starts to get a little tricky, where you're like, oh, I have way more success and ability to run this business. But I will never run this business because it's going to go to this person who doesn't even have the same experience that I do because it's their family business…
We are here to talk about your music as well today... and your new album Glorious, which includes the song, Right on Time, which is a tribute to your mum, Goldie. What was her reaction to the song?
She loved it! I mean, at first I think she was, it took a second to sink in because she was like, "Is that about me?" I was like, "Yes." And then when she heard it again ... The story I'm telling is just these little things that she's told me about her childhood and her growth, and what her life was before she became famous. She really thought she was going to have a very simple life and have a dance school. She thought, oh, I'm going to marry a dentist, which was her dream at the time. But then her life just led to these series of things, because she loved to dance and she wanted to perform. It just found her along the way, and all these new opportunities. It's really a song about what that is for young girls, when they don't think that's what their life's going to be, but they have this thing that pulls at them and it's just magic. So that was kind of my love letter to my mom, but really about the story of her youth. I think we're the keepers of our parents' stories, and we get to share them with our children and we get to share them with your community. I really believe in that third-generational respect and care. But I get to do it in music and then share it with the world, which is really fun for me.
It's romantic, and it's witchy, and it's perfect.
What advice has your mother given you about being a woman in this industry? What have you learned from her?
The one thing I remember growing up with my mum, which is a really wonderful thing now in reflection ... I'm a mother of three. I look back and I'm like, I really saw her care in the stories she was telling. It wasn't like her drive to make films was for the success or stardom. Her drive to make films was to tell the best story, and in the best story she believed there would be the most success. When you look at her body of work it really highlights that. That storytelling is at the centre of all of it. She hasn't made actually that many films. I mean, young people today, we do so much work. There's so much content, there's so many things. My mum's body of work is very specific and extraordinary. But seeing her work ethic, I think ... and same with Kurt [Russell, Kate’s stepfather]. They worked in tandem. We were a real unit and he gave me as much of that as my mom did. That balance, back to what I believe, which is balance, when you have that, I think you learn so much.
When it comes to the industry, what I learned the most from them was that all of this stuff on the outside doesn't mean anything. It's what we're doing in the unit that means everything. That's just always what I take with me, with my family and my kids.
When do you feel the most empowered?
I was just talking about empowerment today because I overheard someone say, "Oh, I don't like the word empower, because it means that someone else has to do it for you." I was like, I get that, I can understand that feeling. And again, back to the woman who's really strong in the room and thrives in that, I can understand that. But for me personally, I've had moments where I've felt much confidence and have empowered myself, but there's also moments that I couldn't have had the confidence to do something if I didn't feel like I was being empowered by someone who gave me the courage, or validated something that might have been a fear of mine. I think of Sia, the incredible musician. We did this wonderful movie together called Music. And if I didn't do that movie with her, I'm not so sure ... she empowered me to find the power in my voice and my vocals. She pushed me and I needed that. So I think it's an individual thing as much as it is, if you are one of those women who feel really strong in a room, remember that you might make the difference to someone who needs that confidence and that encouragement. I know I've had many of those…I look back at that and I think, I was so lucky to have women that actually propelled me forward and gave me permission to be like, no, you need to speak your mind and tell us what you think, it matters. And that's me at 22, so you need those people sometimes.
Running Point is streaming on Netflix now.
For more from GLAMOUR's Assistant Editor and Entertainment Director, Emily Maddick, follow her on Instagram @emilymaddick.
