Oliver Hudson revealed that he and sister Kate Hudson declined Kurt Russell’s offer to adopt them as children after he started dating their mother, Goldie Hawn — but certainly not for lack of love.
The actor and musician opened up about his family dynamics during the Nov. 24 episode of the “Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson” podcast.
Kate Hudson, 45, and Oliver Hudson, 48, are the children of actors Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson. After their parents divorced, the pair were raised by Hawn and her longtime partner, Kurt Russell, as they were estranged at the time from their biological father. The siblings also share a half-brother, Wyatt Russell.
On the recent podcast episode, Oliver Hudson was joined by Miley Cyrus’ mother, Tish Cyrus-Purcell, and sister, Brandi Cyrus, to discuss growing up in the spotlight and navigating life with unconventional families. Brandi Cyrus, the eldest child of Tish Cyrus-Purcell, was adopted by country star Billy Ray Cyrus after he married her mother.
After asking Brandi Cyrus what it was like to be adopted as a child, Oliver Hudson reflected on his own experience.
“My dad, you know, he was around for a little bit, then he bailed,” he said of Bill Hudson, who was married to Goldie Hawn from 1976 to 1982. “We have a good relationship now, but it took a long, long, long, long time … but we’re there,” he said.
Oliver Hudson went on to reveal that in the 1980s, after Russell began dating Hawn, the “Silkwood” actor expressed interested in legally adopting him and his sister.
“Kurt came into my life when I was 5 or 6 … and essentially he raised me … I’m the man I am today because of him, right?”
He continued, “There was a moment when he asked us, myself and Kate, if we wanted to be adopted, and we said no.”
“Not that we were very aware of probably what it even f—— meant, we were 6 and however old, 12 or whatever … but we just said, well, we don’t need it, like the love is right there,” he said.
“There’s no doubt that he is my dad. I call him Pa,” Oliver Hudson added about Kurt Russell.
However, he went on to explain how the estrangement of his biological father was still difficult for him as a child. “At the same time, when you don’t have your biological dad around, it’s hard to replace that no matter what. There was always something — not missing, but there was always sort of that other side,” he said.
Kate Hudson has opened up about her childhood and strained relationship with their biological father in previous interviews. The “Almost Famous” star addressed the topic during a conversation with TODAY’s Willie Geist aired on Jan. 22, 2021.
“It’s a 41-year-old issue,” Hudson told Geist, referring to her relationship with Bill Hudson.
“I have a great family. I have a beautiful mother. I have a stepfather who stepped in and played a huge, huge part in sharing what it is to have a dependable father figure in our life. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that we didn’t know our dad,” Kate Hudson said.
“I think that estrangement is unfortunately quite common,” Hudson continued. “I think it’s important for people to talk about that. If they can’t reconnect or if it’s too challenging, that it’s OK, right?”
Kate Hudson, who eventually reconnected with her biological father, told Willie Geist about her own journey.