Nicole Kidman was interviewed by Hoda Kotb at the Philadelphia History Talks Panel and was asked to recall the moment she learned of her mother’s death. Kidman revealed that she learned the news just before she won the Best Actress award at the 2024 Venice Film Festival for her role in “Baby Girl.”
“As I was about to go on stage, I learned that my mother had passed away,” Kidman said Saturday afternoon. “I immediately went back to my room in Venice and tried to go to bed, but I was completely devastated,” Kidman said as she struggled to process her situation. “I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know how to move on from this, how to function.'” She was part of my being. ”
Kidman went on to describe her “harrowing” attempt to leave Venice in the middle of the night to be with her family, navigate the canals in the dark, and ultimately turn back.
“I remember literally being on a boat at night on the canal, trying to find my way to the airport, and looking back and thinking, ‘I can’t even do this,'” she said. “Then I went back to bed. And I was alone. My husband wasn’t there, my kids weren’t there. I was there to accept an award, and that would have been a beautiful thing. It’s that there are contrasts in life.”
The “Baby Girl” star concludes that this defining experience strengthened her resilience and belief that “you can survive almost anything,” which she credits to her mother.
“She told me: Never let anyone break your spirit,” Kidman said. “She comes from a time when she didn’t have the career advice she wanted. She raised us, supported our father, helped her get her Ph.D. She basically provided for her family and didn’t have the career she wanted. She was very smart.”
Kidman’s mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, was a nursing instructor and a member of the Australian feminist organization Women’s Electoral Lobby. Later in the conversation, Kidman said that it was her mother who urged her not to leave Hollywood when she was in her 40s and roles began to dry up.
“She said, ‘I think I still need to keep my toe in the water. I’m not going to give up completely.’ You’ve been doing this since you were little,” Kidman said. “And thank God she said that.”
What followed was what Kidman called “an even more interesting path” in her career, as she took on bigger roles behind the camera and championed projects that were close to her heart. One of her first big projects was an adaptation of the 2006 play “Rabbit Hole,” about a couple dealing with the loss of a child.
“I just had a baby and I thought, ‘What an amazing thing to do,'” she smiled. “How strange of me to go and make a movie about the thing I fear the most.”
A few years later, Kidman received her third Oscar nomination for her role in this film, which marked a turning point in her career.
“Nobody wanted to give us money,” Kidman recalls. “It was a $3.5 million movie. We had to fight for every penny, but we made it. It was rough, but it was passionate. That was the beginning of my career as a producer.”
Kidman recently appeared at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to promote Practical Magic 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 1998 romantic fantasy starring Sandra Bullock, which is scheduled for release this September. She also stars in two new streaming series this year: the Apple TV+ original “Margo’s Got Money Problems” and the Prime Video series “Scarpetta.”
The brainchild of A+E Networks chief Paul Buccelli, History Talks is a live speaker series that explores newsworthy topics and historical events, bringing together pioneers, world leaders, witnesses, authors and filmmakers for in-depth conversations.
Kidman joined a wide range of entertainment figures Saturday at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, including NFL icons Tom Brady and Jason Kelce, country singer Garth Brooks, and comedians Tina Fey and Colin Jost. Former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton also attended with the first lady.
“HistoryTalks brings together leaders and icons from across industries to reflect on the history we share. At A+E Global Media and the HISTORY Channel, we always pride ourselves on creating moments that celebrate our collective past and contextualize our present,” said Buccelli. “We are honored to join Comcast NBCUniversal in its hometown of Philadelphia to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and bring together teachers, veterans, and history buffs to commemorate this milestone in our hometown of Philadelphia.”
