Nicole Kidman Leaves Award Ceremony Due To A Death In Her Family

Actress Nicole Kidman’s mom, Janelle Ann Kidman, passed away. Nicole left the Venice film Festival early because of her mother’s death. Her mother was 84.

In a statement, Kidman’s Babygirl director Halina Reijn said Nicole had to leave Venice shortly after she arrived because she found out that “my beautiful, brave mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, has just passed.” The director stepped in to accept the Volpi Cup award for Best actress for Nicole.

“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 director continued, reading Kidman’s statement in lieu of Nicole’s attendance at the award ceremony. “The collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken. We love you all, Nicole.”

RÓGE @myrogeniche, X Nicole Oscar Speech

The New York Post wrote about Nicole, 57, talking about her mom’s health in a 2022 NPR Fresh Air interview from Australia.

“We’re down here primarily to take care of my mother and to have her surrounded by her grandchildren,” the actress said. “We were able to take her into the gallery after hours and show her the Matisse exhibit. Which, coming from a mother who raised me in the arts, was a soothing balm.”

 

 

“I’m at the place where I’m being given the chance to view the world—because of how close we are, my mom is giving me the chance to view the world through an 81-year-old woman’s eyes. That is so beneficial right now because she’s so cognizant. She has every faculty, brain faculty, available. She hasn’t lost anything. She hasn’t lost any memory, which is fascinating.”

“And she’s extremely bright. So she’s giving me access ’cause she’s also very direct and very honest. And so I’m getting access to the world through her eyes, my mother’s eyes, so, therefore, a part of me almost at 80,” Nicole said.

The “Eyes Wide Shut” actress has always been close with her parents. Her father Antony Kidman passed away in 2014 at age 75.