Kate Hudson

Golden Globe Award winner and Academy Award nominee Kate Hudson made her studio film debut in "200 Cigarettes," starring with Ben Affleck, Courtney Love and Paul Rudd, directed by Risa Bramon Garcia. Hudson's performance in the comedy – set in New York's East Village on New Year's Eve, 1981 – was singled out by critics across the boards.

Her early films also include "Desert Blue," centered around a toxic chemical scare in a remote tourist trap in California, with Christina Ricci and Casey Affleck, and Warner Bros.' "Gossip," a psychological drama about the deadly power of rumors set on a college campus, featuring James Marsden, Norman Reedus and Joshua Jackson.

However, it was Hudson's career-making performance in Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous" that won the hearts of critics and moviegoers around the world. Hudson's touching portrayal of "band aid" Penny Lane earned her a Golden Globe Award, an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA nomination, amongst numerous other honors and recognition, including the Broadcast Film Critics' Award for Breakthrough Performance. The Golden Globe Award winner for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, about the world of 1970's rock, won rave reviews for the film and its gifted cast, which also included Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Patrick Fugit, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Lee and Anna Paquin. "Almost Famous" appeared on over 115 "Top 10" lists for the year, including over 30 critics and organizations that named it the best picture of the year.

In Robert Altman's "Dr. T and the Women," Hudson was part of an all-star cast, including Richard Gere, Helen Hunt, Laura Dern, Liv Tyler and Farrah Fawcett. She perfected an Irish brogue for the Miramax romantic comedy "About Adam," playing an unlucky-in-love singer/waitress who falls for a charming young man who mesmerizes her entire family; and she played a young Englishwoman opposite Heath Ledger and Wes Bentley in the period remake of "The Four Feathers," filmed in London with director Shekhar Kapur ("Elizabeth").

Hudson achieved global box office success starring opposite Matthew McConaughey in the hit romantic comedy "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," which earned over $200 million worldwide. Her films also include "Alex & Emma" for director Rob Reiner, opposite Luke Wilson; Merchant-Ivory's contemporary comedy "Le Divorce," with an international cast including Naomi Watts, Glenn Close, Stockard Channing, Sam Waterston, Leslie Caron and Stephen Fry; the title role of Garry Marshall's "Raising Helen" for Disney; as well as the psychological thriller "Skeleton Key," opposite Peter Saarsgard and Gena Rowlands.

Hudson starred in the comedy, "You, Me and Dupree," opposite Owen Wilson, Matt Dillon and Michael Douglas, which grossed over $100 million worldwide and, in early 2008, re-teamed with Matthew McConaughey in Warner Bros.' "Fool's Gold," which was another worldwide hit. She appeared alongside Dane Cook and Jason Biggs in "My Best Friend's Girl" and starred opposite Anne Hathaway in "Bride Wars," which also marked Hudson's debut as a producer.

In 2009, Hudson dazzled in the role of a Vogue journalist in Rob Marshall's all-star movie musical "Nine," based on the Broadway production and also starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench and Sophia Loren. Hudson's show-stopping number, "Cinema Italiano," was written specifically for the film, with her in mind. Hudson followed that with a chilling turn in Michael Winterbottom's provocative noir thriller "The Killer Inside Me," with Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba. Hudson starred in the romantic comedy based on the international best-selling novel, "Something Borrowed," and was seen in the provocative dramatic thriller, "The Reluctant Fundamentalist," for director Mira Nair opposite Liev Schreiber and Kiefer Sutherland, which premiered at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals.

More recently, she was seen in the thriller "Good People," opposite James Franco, in Zach Braff's "Wish I Was Here," and in Barry Levinson's "Rock the Kasbah," opposite Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Zooey Deschanel and Danny McBride. Hudson can be seen onscreen in "Mother's Day," with Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis, which reuniteed her with her "Raising Helen" director, Garry Marshall; and in "Deepwater Horizon," opposite Mark Wahlberg.

On television, Hudson guest-starred as a tough-as-nails dance instructor in the fourth season of the hit FOX series, "Glee" and appeared in Larry David's HBO Original Movie "Clear History," with John Hamm and Michael Keaton.

In 2007, Hudson made her directorial debut with the short film "Cutlass," as part of Glamour magazine's "Reel Moments," with first-time female directors working from readers' personal essays. "Cutlass" starred Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Virginia Madsen, Chevy Chase and a then-unknown Kristen Stewart.

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