What should have been a celebratory day for actress Nicole Kidman turned tragic as she arrived in Italy for the Venice Film Festival, only to learn her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, had just died, according to multiple outlets including Vanity Fair.
On September 7, 2024, the actress, who is married to former “American Idol” judge Keith Urban, had just arrived for the festival’s closing ceremony, where she won the Best Actress Award for her new film, “Babygirl.”
Nicole Kidman, 57, immediately left to be with her family and could not accept the award in person, People reported. But she wrote a statement that the movie’s director, Halina Reijn, read as her acceptance speech, describing the heart-wrenching turn of events.
Nicole Kidman Says Her ‘Heart is Broken’ Over Mother’s Death
GettyJanelle Ann Kidman, Nicole Kidman and Lucia Hawley attend the 2018 AACTA Awards on December 5, 2018 in Sydney, Australia.
When Kidman’s name was announced as the Best Actress Winner at the Venice Film Festival, Reijn walked up to the stage to read Kidman’s remarks, published by Variety. In a video of the speech tweeted by Screen International, the audience gasped at the news of the star’s loss.
“Today, I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after my brave and beautiful mother, Janelle Anne Kidman, had just passed,” Kidman’s statement began. “I’m in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her.”
Kidman continued, “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. My heart is broken.”
At the end of the statement, Reijn said, “We love you all, Nicole.”
A rep for Kidman later told Us Weekly, “The family is heartbroken and asks for privacy at this time.”
Nicole Kidman’s Mother Had Struggled With Health Challenges in Recent Years
A cause of death has not been given for Kidman’s mother, but the actress had insinuated in 2022 that she was dealing with health issues.
In January 2022, the Australian-born actress told NPR’s “Fresh Air” podcast, “We’re down here (in Australia) primarily to take care of my mother and to have her surrounded by her grandchildren.”
Mentioning that an uptick in COVID-19 in the area had halted many activities there, Kidman said they were “lucky” to get to visit a local museum with her mom after-hours “and show her the Matisse exhibit, which, coming from a mother who’s raised me in the arts was very, very — it was soothing balm.”
According to Australian outlet Now to Love, Kidman’s mother was hospitalized in 2016 with heart issues and has dealt with health challenges since.
In 2023, an inside family source told the outlet, “Janelle has made it very clear that Nicole is not to hold back on her work because of her health problems. “She has an excellent team around her, the best doctors in the country and family popping in and out all the time, so she’s hardly on her own.”
Kidman and Urban — along with their daughters Sunday, 15, and Faith, 13 — have homes in Sydney as well as Nashville, Los Angeles and New York City, according to the Daily Mail. The night before his mother-in-law’s death, Urban posted on Instagram that he had just performed in Brisbane.
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