LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - Actress Goldie Hawn, her daughter Kate Hudson and baby granddaughter Rani Rose Fujikawa graced the cover of People magazine's annual Beautiful issue on Tuesday (April 21).

It was the first time that three generations had appeared on the Beautiful cover, which marked the 30th anniversary of one of the celebrity publication's most coveted honours.

"These women illustrate what is important to us right now: positivity, kindness, laughter and family," said People's editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford.

In the magazine, Private Benjamin (1980) star Hawn, 74, and Almost Famous (2000) actress Hudson, 41, talk about their relationship and the challenges of parenting.

"Mom was my greatest cheerleader. And it just made me think about Rani ... going, 'I hope I give her that kind of confidence,' you know?" Hudson told the magazine.

The double issue, on newsstands on Friday, contains 40 pages of other stars, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Rita Wilson who photographed themselves for the Barefaced Beauties section.

American actress Michelle Pfeiffer was the first person to be featured on the cover of the Most Beautiful special issue in 1990. Others over the years have included five-time favourite Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio and Beyonce.

The feature was changed in 2018 to simply the Beautiful issue.