Nicole Kidman Recalls Learning of Her Mom's Death During Film Festival and Wondering How She Was Going to 'Function Now'
Nicole Kidman Recalls Learning of Her Mom's Death During Film Festival and Wondering How She Was Going to 'Function Now'
Erin Clack, Meredith WilshereSun, April 19, 2026 at 12:41 AM UTC
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Nicole Kidman; Janelle Ann KidmanCredit: Gabe Ginsberg/Getty -
Nicole Kidman recalled the moment she learned of her mom's death during the Venice Film Festival
The actress' mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, died in September 2024
"I was completely devastated and thought, 'I do not know how I'm gonna move forward or function now,' " Nicole said during a conversation with Hoda Kotb at HISTORYTalks in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 18
Nicole Kidman is reflecting on the devastating moment when she learned of her mother's death, just moments before she was set to take the stage at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
During a conversation with Hoda Kotb at HISTORYTalks in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 18, the actress recalled how she was experiencing an "enormous high" at the time, having won the festival's Best Actress award for her role in Babygirl.
"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, ' " Nicole, 58, said, adding of mom Janelle Ann Kidman, "She was so much a part of my existence. So the idea of being there at that particular moment was parole."
Nicole Kidman at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 30, 2024Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty
Nicole went on to recount her attempt to leave Venice in the middle of the night to be with her grieving family.
“I remember getting into a boat in the canal, literally at night, trying to find my way to the airport, and then turning around going, ‘I can’t even do this,’ ” she told the audience. “Then I went back to bed. And I was alone. My husband wasn’t there, my children weren’t there. I was there to win an award, which should’ve been a beautiful thing. That there is the contrast of life.”
Nicole said the painful experience reminded her that she is "resilient" and can "survive pretty much anything."
That echoes a valuable lesson she said she learned from her late mother that she's passed on to her children: "Don't ever let anyone break your spirit."
Janelle Ann Kidman and Nicole Kidman in 2018Credit: James D. Morgan/Getty
“She came from an era where she wasn’t given the career advice she would’ve loved," Nicole explained. "She raised us, supported my father, helped him get his PhD. She basically gave to her family and didn’t have the career that she would’ve loved to have had. She was exceptionally smart."
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At the film festival on Sept. 7, 2024, Babygirl director Halina Reijn read a written statement on Nicole's behalf during what would have been the actress' Best Actress acceptance speech. Nicole wrote that she had flown in to Venice, only to find out "shortly after that my beautiful, brave mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, has just passed."
"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," Reijn continued, reading Nicole's statement. "The collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken."
Nicole Kidman and Janelle Ann Kidman in 2001Credit: James Morgan/Shutterstock
Several weeks after her mom's death, Nicole spoke about how she served as her "guide" throughout her life.
“My mother was obviously a major guide through my life and probably my compass in terms of everything I did,” the Scarpetta star told Extra in October 2024.
Indeed, during her HISTORYTalks with Kotb, 61, Nicole shared how her mom encouraged her not to retire from acting when roles began to dwindle as she reached her 40s.
"I'd moved to Nashville, I was pregnant, I had my daughter, and I was going to retire," she recalled. "My mother was like, 'You need to still give your total water. I wouldn't completely give up. You've been doing this since you were little — it's your makeup.' "
"And thank God she said that," Nicole continued, explaining that she ultimately went down "a much more interesting road in her career" by doing more producing and pursuing meaningful projects like a film adaptation of the play Rabbit Hole.
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