Goldie Hawn Reveals She Changed Daughter Kate's Name After She Kicked Her in Utero: 'She Was Tough'
Goldie Hawn says she always knew her daughter, Kate Hudson, could handle anything.
When she was in labor with Hudson in 1979, Hawn recalls being in the car on the way to the hospital. “She kicked me so hard in my vagina that I changed her name right on the spot because she was tough,” the actress, 74, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “I had named her Rebecca and on the 405 [freeway] I went, ‘This is a Kate.'”
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The women’s close relationship has only been strengthened by the births of Hudson’s three children, sons Ryder, 16, and Bing, 8, (from previous relationships) and 18-month-old daughter Rani Rose, with musician Danny Fujikawa.
“It was really amazing with Bing, because it was the first time any of us in the family had had a natural birth,” says Hudson, 41, looking at her mom. “And you got to be there.”
“I was so happy to be invited in that room,” adds Hawn, noting they all thought Bing was a girl. “I watched him be born and I saw a penis. And then I wrapped him in the pink blanket that I knit while I was waiting for him.”
Watch the full episode of Like Mother, Like Daughter: Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson streaming now on PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device.
With her third pregnancy, Hudson wanted no surprises. “I was just like, I have to know, I have to be prepared for this; I thought for sure I’m going to be a boy mom,” she says. “So we did a reveal and my God, I was so shocked and excited. I couldn’t believe it.”
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When she gave birth to Rani in October 2018, “I was right there,” says Hawn, laughing. “I was a little bit close.”
Adds Hudson: “Every part of that birth was just so beautiful.”
For more on Hawn and Hudson, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
