Born on this day in Washington, D.C., radiant actress Goldie Jeanne Hawn (1945–) was a dancer at three and a working actress by sixteen, already shining with the joyful spark that would define her career.

“I was named for my mother’s Aunt Goldie, who died a year before I was born,” she once shared— a small piece of family history that helped shape her sense of belonging.

Her career took flight in 1968 on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, where her giggles, go-go boots, and painted-on slogans made her unforgettable. Beneath the bubbly exterior lived a wise soul who understood the healing power of humor. “Once you can laugh at your own weaknesses, you can move forward. Comedy breaks down walls. It opens up people. If you’re good, you can fill up those openings with something positive, maybe even soften a little of the ugliness in the world,” she said.

A year later, she won an Academy Award for Cactus Flower (1969), winning the hearts of fans around the globe. More beloved roles followed: Shampoo (1975), Private Benjamin (1980), and Swing Shift (1984), where she met her longtime partner, Kurt Russell.

“I have a light personality and a very deep-thinking brain,” she said. “Those two things are very different things.”

A successful director and producer, Hawn has balanced creative work with raising her family, watching with joy as her daughter Kate Hudson shines with her own charisma and talent.

“I’ve finally stopped running away from myself,” Goldie reflected. “Who else is there better to be?”