Who is Bill Hudson? Everything we know about Kate Hudson's estranged father as actress opens up about their relationship

Kate Hudson, while speaking to correspondent Tracy Smith, opened up about her relationship with her father, Bill Hudson, during an appearance on CBS News Sunday Morning, the episode of which will be broadcast on April 28, 2024.

The Bride Wars actress revealed she doesn't have a relationship with her father, has no expectations, and just wants him to be happy.

"I don't really have one. But it's like, you know, it's warming up. There's warming up with this all happening...but it'll be whatever it will be, you know. I have no expectation of that with my father, you know. It's like, I just want him to be happy," she said.

Bill Hudson was a member of the 1970s band The Hudson Brothers and split from Kate's mother Goldie Hawn when Kate was a toddler.

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Who is Bill Hudson?

Born in October 1949, Bill Hudson is an American musician and actor. He was a vocalist in The Hudson Brothers, a band he started with his brothers Brett and Mark in 1965.

Hudson appeared in supporting roles in Zero to Sixty, Hysterical, and Big Shots. Bill was traveling to Los Angeles from New York in 1975 when he first met Kate's mother, Goldie Hawn, in a fight. The two got married in July 1976 and had two kids, Oliver Hudson in 1976 and Kate Hudson in 1979. However, Bill later filed for divorce in August 1980.

As per CloserWeekly, Bill claimed Goldie cheated on him during their marriage. After the pair ended their marriage, Goldie started dating Kurt Russel in 1983 and the two have been together ever since.

While speaking to Daily Mail in a 2011 interview, Bill accused Goldie of turning Oliver and Kate against him once she began dating Kurt.

"When we split up, she never had a bad word to say about me. But when Kurt came on the scene, the narrative changed and I became the big, bad wolf. I would say to her, 'Goldie, why are you trashing me and saying I'm an absent father when it's simply not the case?' and she'd laugh and go, 'Oh Bill, you know it makes for a better story," he said.

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Bill Hudson's relationship with Oliver and Kate Hudson explored

In 2015, Oliver Hudson shared a photo of him with Kate Hudson and Bill Hudson on Father's Day on social media with the caption, "Happy abandonment day" after which Bill gave an interview to The Mail saying:

"Goldie wanted to create this myth of a perfect family with Kurt and she wanted me out."

While speaking about his children with Goldie, Bill denounced them saying:

"I say to them now, 'I set you free. I had five birth children but I now consider myself a father of three. I no longer recognize Oliver and Kate as my own. I would ask them to stop using the Hudson name. They are no longer a part of my life."

During an interview with iHeartMedia's Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast in February 2023, Kate revealed she avoided pursuing a career in music due to her estranged relationship with her father. However, she is all set to release her album Glorious on May 17, 2024.