Nicole Kidman recalled the moment she learned of her mother’s death, just as she was going to receive an award
The 58-year-old Aussie said she was going through an “enormous high” in her career at the time with the success of her film Babygirl, topped off with winning the festival’s Best Actress award at the2024 Venice Film Festival.
But then she got the devastating news.
“I was about to go onstage and I found out my mother had died and I went right back to the room in Venice, got into bed and was completely devastated and thought, ‘I do not know how I’m gonna move forward or function now,'” she told TV host Hoda Kotb at HISTORYTalks in Philadelphia
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Janelle Ann Kidman, died in in Sydney in September 2024 aged 83.
”She was so much a part of my existence. So the idea of being there at that particular moment was parole,” Nicole added.
The actress recalled trying to leave Venice in the middle of the night to be with the rest of her family in Australia.
“I remember getting into a boat in the canal, literally at night, trying to find my way to the airport, and then turning around going, ‘I can’t even do this,’ ” she shared.
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“Then I went back to bed. And I was alone. My husband wasn’t there, my children weren’t there. I was there to win an award, which should’ve been a beautiful thing. That there is the contrast of life.”
The Practical Magic star shared the experience reminded her that she was ”resilient” and can “survive pretty much anything”.
She added that this is exactly the lesson her late mother taught her, and which she aims to pass on to her children: “Don’t ever let anyone break your spirit.”
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Nicole Kidman’s life and career in photos
The actress has been public about her grief following her mother’s death, even recently sharing that she was considering a career pivot inspired by it.
She revealed during a talk at the University of San Francisco’s War Memorial Gym on Saturday, April 11 that she is pursuing being a death doula.
The Oscar-winning actress spoke about the idea to investigative journalist and USF graduate Vicky Nguyen as part of the school’s Silk Speaker Series.
She said though it ”may sound a little weird,” she was inspired to take it on after the death of her mother.
“As my mother was passing, she was lonely, and there was only so much the family could provide,” Kidman said, as per the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Between my sister and I, we have so many children and our careers and our work, and wanting to take care of her because my father wasn’t in the world anymore, and that’s when I went, ‘I wish there was these people in the world that were there to sit impartially and just provide solace and care,” she said.
“So that’s part of my expansion and one of the things I will be learning.”
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