Goldie Hawn Apparently Had No Idea She'd Won an Oscar in 1970
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It wasn't just any Oscar–it was her first.
Goldie Hawn's life changed overnight back in 1970, but she had no clue.
The actress, 77, recently recalled the time she won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1969 film Cactus Flower, and didn't know about it–nor did she expect it!
“I forgot it was on television that night,” she revealed in a conversation with Variety. “Then I woke up to a phone call at like 4 in the morning. And it was a man’s voice, and he said, ‘Hey, congratulations, you got it.’ ‘I got what?’ ‘You got the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.’”
Cactus Flower ended up being Hawn's first big break in the film industry and she was nominated against actresses like Sylvia Miles and her performance in Midnight Cowboy and Susannah York for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Hawn said she didn't even watch the footage of her being announced as the winner until just a few weeks ago, when this year's host, Jimmy Kimmel, sat her down for a first-time viewing.
The two were en route to a party when he asked if she ever saw the moment that changed her life's trajectory. “He said, ‘Did you ever see the part where you’re being announced by Fred Astaire?’ And I said, ‘Fred Astaire?!’ He’s my idol,” she exclaimed. “And I didn’t know he was the one that announced my name. I got emotional when I finally saw it.”
The actress noted that she couldn't attend her first Academy Award show due to scheduling conflicts and that she was filming There's a Girl in My Soup in London.
“I never got dressed up. I never got to pick up the award,” she said. “I regret it. It’s something that I look back on now and think, ‘It would have been so great to be able to have done that.’”
Hawn has since won many other awards, even earning a second Academy Award nomination in 1981, Best Actress in a Leading Role for her part in Private Benjamin. And although it wouldn't be the same, one of these late-night talk shows should help her recreate the moment–maybe in honor of the film's 55th anniversary next year? Just an idea!
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