Nicole Kidman is undoubtedly one of Hollywood’s most sought-after and talented actresses. Not only has she impressed critics with her artistic range — she’s received plaudits for kids films like “Paddington” to adult psycho-dramas like “Eyes Wide Shut” — but the star also has a collection of once-in-a-lifetime accolades. She won an Oscar for her 2002 performance in “The Hours” in addition to a BAFTA, five Golden Globes, two Emmys and one Screen Actor’s Guild Award.
It’s no wonder, then, that when Kidman speaks, we listen.
Kidman, who was born in the U.S. to Australian parents, got her start in show business when she was just 16 years old. In 1983, the teen appeared in a remake of an Australian classic, “Bush Christmas.” And that same year, the up-and-coming actress landed a supporting role on “Five Mile Creek.” But t wasn’t until the late 1980s and early ‘90s that Kidman’s career really took off.
If there was one film that changed everything, it was Philip Noyce’s 1989 thriller “Dead Calm.” Its success led to other career-defining roles. Kidman followed her performance in the thriller with a role in “Days of Thunder,” the first of three films in which she would star with her first husband, Tom Cruise. Thanks to the film’s commercial success, she quickly became a Hollywood mainstay.
More recently, she’s made a name for herself as one of television’s most talented actresses, earning multiple awards for her role in HBO’s “Big Little Lies.”
In a revealing interview in 2019, Nicole Kidman spoke to her role on the show while also opening up about her faith and personal life.
Nicole Kidman (2003), (Vera Anderson/WireImage/Getty images)
Beginning her career in 1983, Kidman is best known for her roles in the films “Eyes Wide Shut,” “The Hours,” which earned her the Academy Award for best actress, and “Moulin Rouge!” She is also an accomplished television star, with her most successful role being in “Big Little Lies.” The series earned her two Emmy awards, one for her acting and another for being an executive producer.
But despite being one of the top actresses in Hollywood, Kidman revealed that she nearly gave up her craft soon after she gave birth to her first daughter. Fans of the actress know that family is incredibly important to her. After Kidman married country music star Keith Urban in 2006 in Sydney, Australia, the couple went on to have two daughters, 13-year-old Sunday Rose and 11-year-old Faith Margaret.
And while having a family hasn’t slowed down Kidman’s career at all, she did reveal that she wanted to “give up” acting in lieu of raising her kids. But thankfully, Kidman’s own mother, Janelle, gave her some wise words of advice that inspired her to keep going — lucky for all of us! In fact, Kidman has spoken about how it’s those closest to her — including her mom and younger sister — that she relies on to give her advice in her life.
Kidman’s career continues to have a fantastic trajectory and she is one of the most recognizable women in Hollywood today. Though she is surrounded by fame and stardom, Kidman continues to be a humble woman. In 2019, Kidman opened up about how “Big Little Lies, has impacted her career and gave a look into her life.
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Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman (2017), (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/HBO/Getty images)
Ahead of the show’s second season, Kidman described how working with the cast — which includes five female leadings, including Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Zoë Kravitz and Shailene Woodley — was a highlight of her experience.
“To watch Zoë and Shailene grow up and to see them become women … it’s so nice, and I’ve never had that. I know Laura and Reese feel that, too. We’re all so different, yet we complement each other,” Kidman told Vanity Fair.
Kidman even revealed that she and her female co-stars have a group chat together, which includes Meryl Streep, who joined the show for its second season.
“Can you imagine that we got to go to dinner with Meryl every week? And hear her stories!? It’s like years and years of actresses being siloed off, and finally they let us intermingle,” Kidman told the magazine. “You can only imagine the conversations that we had. It was a really amazing experience of sharing our indignities and our triumphs, and just every rainbow of the female experience in our business.”
Beyond talking about her experience on the show, Kidman spoke to her strong belief in God. The Australian-American actress, who was raised Catholic, explained that she, her husband and their kids go to church as a family.
“That’s how we are raising our children. Keith has his own beliefs but he comes, too,” Kidman said. “I had a very Catholic grandmother, and I was raised praying, so that had massive impact. I wouldn’t say it’s absolutism, there’s constant questioning — I’m a willful, feisty girl. For me it’s very important that I don’t have judgment. My dad would always say, ‘Tolerance is the most important thing.’”
Nicole Kidman, Faith Margaret, Sunday Rose (2019), (Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
“A lot of my friends tease me,” Kidman said of her faith.
More recently, Kidman spoke to the press about her role in Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos,” which revolves around the relationship between Lucille Ball and her first husband, Desi Arnaz.
“This film says you can make an extraordinary relationship thrive and leave remnants of it that exist forever. Yeah, that’s really gorgeous. You can’t make people behave how you want them to, and sometimes you’re going to fall in love with someone who isn’t going to be the person you spend the rest of your life with. And I think that’s all very relatable. You may have kids with them. You may not, but they were very much in love,” Kidman told The Guardian in a December 2021 interview.
If you think the actress might have been talking about her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, then you’d be wrong. When the interviewer asked that question with “exquisite care,” Kidman seemed a bit offended.
“Oh, my God, no, no. Absolutely not. No. I mean, that’s, honestly, so long ago that that isn’t in this equation. So no,” Kidman said.
And when the interviewer pressed Kidman for more — on her personal life and on what it means to be famous — it seems that the star prefers to keep her life as private as possible.
“No, I have to really protect them. I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut,” Kidman said of her family.
In 2022, Kidman will star in Robert Eggers’ “The Northman,” which is set to release in April.
Nicole Kidman (2020), (Daniele Venturelli/WireImage/Getty images)
Did you know that Kidman is religious? What do you think about her faith? Let us know — and be sure to pass this story on to other fans of the star.