Amid a big week professionally, Nicole Kidman has shared tragic personal news, her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman has died. The actress was at the Venice Film Festival with her project on the 2024 movie schedule, Babygirl, and she won an award for her performance in it. However, she couldn’t accept the honor, and her director shared a statement on the actress’s behalf, as she left after learning the news about her mom.
On September 7, Babygirl’s director Halina Reijn accepted Kidman’s award, and read a statement that explained why the actress departed the festival early, People reported. The statement was written by the actress, and she explained that right after she flew into Venice, she found out about her mother’s passing. Continuing, her statement said:
I'm in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her. She shaped me, she guided me and she made me. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina. The collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken.
Along with this statement, the Babygirl director said:
We love you all, Nicole.
Adding to that, one of Kidman’s representatives confirmed the death of her mother to the outlet, explaining that her “family is heartbroken and asks for privacy at this time.”
This news comes amid a busy few weeks for The Big Little Lies star. Babygirl, the erotic thriller that comes out on December 25 and stars Kidman, Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas, premiered on August 30 in Italy. She then won an award at the festival for her performance.
On top of that, her series The Perfect Couple (which is available with a Netflix subscription) premiered on the 2024 TV schedule.
Kidman’s performance in The Perfect Couple has also been praised by critics. And before flying to Venice, she was in Los Angeles on September 4 with her co-stars Liev Schreiber, Meghann Fahy and more for the premiere of the book-to-screen adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s novel.
Now, it sounds like she is headed home to be with her family. At the time of this writing, we don’t know how Kidman’s mother died, however, THR reported that it was sudden.
Back in 2020, the actress spoke about the impact her mother had on her career. Talking to The Sydney Morning Herald, she said:
She's given me the fire to pursue the career I have because I've always wanted to please her. But she also carved her own path and wanted her daughters to have the same opportunity to carve their own paths. Mum didn't necessarily get the career that she wanted, but she was determined that her daughters would have opportunities that were equal. That's given me my life. And she gave me my life, she and my dad.
While it could be assumed from her statement read at the festival that these two were close, this quote also shows how tight they were, and how proud Nicole Kidman’s mother was of her.
We here at CinemaBlend send our condolences to Nicole Kidman and her family during this difficult time.
