Hawn and Hudson talk mother-daughter beauty

NEW YORK -- When Kate Hudson first burst onto the scene with the movie "Almost Famous," her uncanny resemblance to her mother Goldie Hawn had everybody talking.

Hudson didn't see it. But now that she's a mother herself -- of two sons, Rider and Bingham -- the 34-year-old actress says she treasures the comparison.

The mother-daughter pair -- Hawn an Oscar winner for "Cactus Flower" and Hudson a nominee for "Almost Famous" -- has never acted together, but they teamed up for an Almay ad for Mother's Day. In a discussion of motherhood and beauty, both said their glow comes from the inside. Hawn also said daily meditation allows her to "connect to spirit."

"Growing up with my mom there was always a sense of fun and it comes down to optimism as well," Hudson said in an interview with The Associated Press. "When you learn how to be optimistic and wake up in the morning and appreciate things and create that in your brain, I think you start to have an enjoyment of life and it shows."

AP: Now that Kate is an adult and a mom herself, has your relationship gone from parent and child to friends?

Hawn: The truth is that no matter how old we are, as long as our mothers are alive, we want our mother. And it's a very powerful relationship if it's healthy. I miss my mother today. I think the transition does happen but I don't think we ever lose our positioning because we don't want to lose our mother. It's a very, very interesting walk.

Hudson: I think when I had Rider, I think that's when you really start to see your parents and connect with them in a different way and you start to see yourself differently as to what you put your parents through, you sort of empathize.

AP: Everyone talks about how you two look alike. Do you see the resemblance?

Hawn: I do.

Hudson: I used to say, 'Why do people say that? I look nothing like my mom' but I sometimes walk across a mirror and just get a glance and I see it.

Hawn: We don't really look alike. You take all of our features and they're not alike. What we do have is a way of being that is both very similar. Katie's eyes are different. She looks more like my mother. It's interesting how you can feel it's in the DNA. Katie said it perfectly, she said, 'Why does everybody always talk about this and that and us' and she said, 'What do you expect? I'm my mother's daughter!'

Hudson: And you know what, I am damn proud of it! It's a very repetitive question that I get a lot in my life, and it's something that I feel the rarity of being in that position is I really look at that as a real blessing because the relationship between mother and daughter is very complex and to be able to talk about the importance of the relationship is something that I look forward to. It really informed such a huge part of who I am and the confidence that I have as a woman. It really does come from the closeness that I have with Mommy. Now as I get questions about mom it's so much deeper and so much more complex that I look forward to sharing that more and more with people.

AP: What's the best beauty advice you ever received from your mother?

Hudson: Beauty is an inside-out job, and I think when you are connected to the things that you love, whether it be your children or your creativity, that they bring out a level of joy and circulate all the endorphins in your brain and then you have that, that's when beauty starts to reveal itself.