Nicole Kidman is opening up about one of the most devastating moments of her life the night she learned her mother had died, just as she was preparing to step onstage at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. The actress, who won Best Actress that evening for her role in Babygirl, said the news shattered what had been an “enormous high.”
Speaking at HISTORYTalks in Philadelphia, the 58‑year‑old star described the surreal contrast of receiving the biggest honour of the festival while her world was collapsing in private. “I was about to go onstage, and I found out my mother had died,” she told the audience. “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.’”
Kidman recalled trying to flee Venice in the middle of the night, desperate to reach 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 said. “Then I went back to bed.”
Her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, was, in her words, “so much part of my existence,” making the timing of the loss even more painful. Kidman said the moment felt like a cruel twist of fate a night meant for celebration instead became a night of profound loneliness. “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.”
Her candid reflection offered a rare glimpse into the emotional toll behind the glamour, reminding audiences that even at the height of success, grief can strike without mercy.
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