All directors, family members, co-stars and interviewers are quick to comment on her ability to light up a room. Through some combination of a winning smile, solid work ethic, and good old-fashioned talent, the young actress has gone from beginner to Vanity Fair cover girl in just three years. What's more, she's done it all without capitalizing on the success of legendary mom, Goldie Hawn. By all accounts, Hudson was a born performer - as a child she danced and sang at every opportunity. She made her big-screen debut as an ambitious young starlet stranded in a tiny California town in Desert Blue (1998). Her next two films, while critically panned, made it into wider release: 200 Cigarettes (1999) (in which she played an earnest but accident-prone ditz) and Gossip (2000/I) (which cast her as a rich, virginal college student). Perhaps Hudson's biggest break was landing the role of rock groupie (or "Band Aide") Penny Lane in Almost Famous (2000). The part was originally intended for Sarah Polley; when Polley backed out to pursue another project, director Cameron Crowe considered scrapping the film altogether. Hudson, who had been cast in a smaller role (as William's stewardess sister), begged for a chance to read for Penny. Crowe was impressed, Hudson got the part, and the show went on. As much as Tinseltown gossip mongers would like to put them at odds, mother and daughter agree that Hawn is one of Hudson's biggest supporters. Kate has never been particularly close to her birth father, musician Bill Hudson; she considers her true "Pa" to be Hawn's longtime partner, Kurt Russell, who has lived with the family since she was three. Her brother, Oliver Hudson, is an actor and aspiring writer-director.