It was supposed to be one of the biggest nights of her career – until everything changed in an instant.
Nicole Kidman is opening up about the moment she learned her mother had died – just minutes before accepting Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival in 2024. “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 shared during a recent talk. Her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, was not just family – she was, in Nicole’s words, everything.
“She was so much a part of my existence”
What followed felt almost surreal. Nicole described trying to leave Venice in the middle of the night: “I remember getting into a boat in the canal trying to find my way to the airport ‘I can’t even do this.'”
She turned back. Alone. No husband. No kids. Just grief – colliding with what should have been a career high.
“That there is the contrast of life.”
Still, if there’s one thing she took from the moment, it’s strength.
“Don’t ever let anyone break your spirit.”
It’s advice passed down from her mother – a woman Nicole describes as “brilliant, selfless, and quietly influential in shaping her path.” And in a twist that feels almost cinematic, it was that same mother who once convinced her not to walk away from acting entirely: “You need to still give your total water it’s your makeup.” Now, years later, that voice still echoes – even in the hardest moments.