Nicole Kidman Opens Up About Waking Up ‘Crying and Gasping’ After Losing Both Parents.
In a heartfelt interview for the November 18 cover story of GQ, actress Nicole Kidman, 57, spoke candidly about the profound grief she’s experiencing following the death of her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, in September.
My beautiful Mumma, Happy #MothersDay! Nicole wrote on her Instagram in May 2023
Dr. Antony Kidman, her father, passed away in September 2014 after a fall during a visit to her sister, Antonia, in Singapore.
“So life is, whew. It’s definitely a journey. And it hits you as you get older,” Nicole said, adding that “it’s a wake up at 3 a.m. crying and gasping kind of thing.”
She continued, “If you’re in it and not numbing yourself to it. And I’m in it. Fully in it.”
The Academy Award winner shared that her thoughts on life and death have become “even more so” significant as she navigates raising her teenage daughters, Sunday, 16, and Faith, 13, alongside her husband, Keith Urban.
Nicole Kidman with husband Keith Urban
“Mortality. Connection. Life coming and hitting you,” Nicole told GQ. “And loss of parents and raising children and marriage and all of the things that go into making you a fully sentient human. I’m in all of those places.”
During what would have been her acceptance speech for best actress for her role in Babygirl, the film’s director, Halina Reijn, read a letter on Nicole’s behalf. In the letter, Nicole shared that she had traveled to Venice, only to find out shortly after that her wonderful and courageous mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, had just passed away.
The Big Little Lies actress reflected on her late mother as her source of inspiration in a Vanity Fair article published on November 13.”She was my compass in a way,” Nicole told the publication. “It’s like losing that, but at the same time going, ‘Okay, well, this is for her then.’
So much of what she wanted for my sister and I was to create women in this world who felt like they could express themselves and have opportunities, especially things she didn’t have from her generation.” Sadly, her mother passed away before she had the chance to witness Nicole’s most recent creation.
“I wish she could have seen this part of it. She was very excited to see Babygirl, and she was excited to see Perfect Couple too, but she didn’t get to see either of those,” Nicole said.
At the premiere of Lioness season 2 in Los Angeles on October 2023, she shared with reporter that she was “hanging in there” following the passing of her mother.
“I wish my mama was here,” Nicole said. “That’d be the one thing I’d say. Everything is great with work but I wish my mama was here.”
