There's Something About Kate

A Hollywood actress who can dance, write and is a ninja with a business spreadsheet? Meet the polymath that is Kate Hudson…

There were audible gasps in our office when pictures emerged this summer of Kate Hudson sporting a freshly shaved head on the set of her new film, Sister. It was risky. She was shorn to the scalp for the role – and barely recognisable. A daring departure from those trademark blonde Californian girl-next-door flicks, and yet, somehow, she effortlessly worked that buzzcut. And we bought into it – hey, some of us even tried it ourselves . But that’s the thing about Kate Hudson. What she does, sells. What she wears, we want. What she appears in, we go and see. She is one of those golden Hollywood names who seems to make a success of pretty much everything, whether it’s a romcom like How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days or as the transformative cooler face of once-frumpy clothing brand Ann Taylor. She’s a true multi-hyphenate for the slash-slash generation, hungry to build their own portfolio careers.

The 38-year-old, who grew up in LA with her actress mother Goldie Hawn and stepfather Kurt Russell, built her second career as an instinctively switched-on businesswoman. In 2013 she launched Fabletics with TechStyle Fashion Group co-CEOs Don Ressler and Adam Goldenberg, after they saw a gap in the market for stylish, affordable leisurewear for the fit fashion-literate. Four years later and, according to Forbes, Fabletics is now a serious contender to Amazon’s fashion e-commerce leg, with 22 shops across the US. Pretty impressive for someone with no business experience.