She came to fame in 2000, after an Oscar-nominated role in the drama Almost Famous, and has since established herself as a Hollywood lead actress, starring in several successful films, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and The Skeleton Key.

Kate Hudson was born in Los Angeles to William (Bill) Louis Hudson (a singer, comedian and member of the Hudson Brothers) and Goldie Hawn (a well-known film actress). Her mother has Hungarian Jewish ancestry, and her father is of part Italian descent; Hudson was raised in the Jewish religion, and also practices Buddhism, describing herself as a "Jew-Bu".

Kate's parents divorced shortly after her birth, and she and her brother, actor Oliver Hudson, were raised by her mother and her mother's long-time boyfriend, actor Kurt Russell. Because Hudson's biological father was absent during most of her childhood, the two are estranged from each other. Hudson has stated that her biological father "doesn't know me from a hole in the wall", and that she considers her mother's partner, Kurt Russell, to be her father. Hudson has described her mother as "the woman that I've learned the most from, and who I look up to, who has conducted her life in a way that I can look up to". She has three half-siblings, Emily and Zachary Hudson, from her biological father's subsequent marriage to actress Cindy Williams) - and Wyatt, from her mother's relationship with Kurt Russell. Her cousin is singer Sarah Hudson.

Hudson graduated from Crossroads, a performing school in Santa Monica, in 1997.

Hudson's breakthrough role was as Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She had previously appeared in the lesser-known films Gossip, a teenage drama, and 200 Cigarettes, a New Year's-set comedy with a large cast of actors.

Hudson turned down the part of Mary Jane Watson in the 2002 film version of Spider-Man, and instead starred in remake of the historical romance The Four Feathers, a film which was not well received by critics or audiences. Her next film, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, a romantic comedy, became a big success at the box office, grossing over $100 million after its February 2003 release. Hudson subsequently appeared in several romantic comedies, including Alex and Emma and Raising Helen; the films were met with varying degrees of success.

Her latest film is the 2005 thriller, The Skeleton Key, which was a mild box office success in August 2005, grossing over $45 million. Her latest film, the comedy You, Me and Dupree, opens on July 14, 2006 and also stars Matt Dillon and Owen Wilson.

Hudson has long expressed an interest in producing films, and is currently finalizing a deal to produce and star in a film scheduled to start filming in the fall of 2006.[5] Two films in which she was previously scheduled to star in, the comedy Can You Keep a Secret? and the drama Sleight of Mind, are still in development.[5]

In 2000, Hudson married Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson. She gave birth to their son, Ryder Russell Robinson, on January 7, 2004. The couple live in a house that was once owned by director James Whale.

Hudson has said that she does not enjoy watching herself on screen, specifying that she "get[s] cold... shake[s] and... sweat[s]" when watching her performances for the first time.