Grieving Kidman’s first statement after family heartbreak
Nicole Kidman with her sister Antonia and their mother Janelle. Photo: Instagram
A grieving Nicole Kidman has taken to social media to thank friends and fans for an “outpouring of love and kindness” following the death of her mother.
The Hollywood star’s mother, Janelle Kidman, died last week as Kidman was on her way to Italy to accept an award at the Venice International Film Festival.
The 57-year-old Australian actor landed in Italy, only to quickly reroute for the long flight home to be with her extended family in Sydney.
On Friday, she offered her first public comments on the loss.
“My sister and I, along with our family, want to thank you for the outpouring of love and kindness we have felt this week,” Kidman wrote in an Instagram post accompanied by photos of her, her sister Antonia and their mother.
“Every message we have received from those who loved and admired our mother has meant more to us than we will ever be able to express. Thank you from our whole family for respecting our privacy as we take care of each other.”
The message, signed with a simple red heart emoji, had drawn tens of thousands of likes within a couple of hours.
There were also public tributes from Kidman’s acting colleagues.
“Sending so much love to you both. So sorry for your loss. Your wonderfully spirited mum will be missed by so many. Hopefully she is now peacefully reunited with your papa,” wrote actor Naomi Watts.
Singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz – to whom Kidman was once engaged – offered his “deepest condolences”. Closer to home, journalist Lisa Wilkinson shared a personal story.
“I’ll never forget the wintry night my hubby (journalist and author Peter Fitz Simons) – without any prior warning, and with me in my PJ’s – arrived home from a big charity night with your lovely mum and dad for a cup of tea and a chat by the fire,” she wrote.
“They were both so full of gentle grace, intelligence and humility…and so incredibly proud of both of you. Wishing both you and your families all the space, privacy and time you need to cherish all the sweet memories.”
Kidman got the best actor award in Venice for her risque role in the erotic Babygirl. The Oscar-winner plays a hard-nosed CEO who jeopardises her career and her family by having a toxic affair with a young, manipulative intern played by Harris Dickinson.
Babygirl director Halina Reijn read a note to the audience in Venice last Saturday, in which Kidman said her “heart is broken”.
“Today I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after, that my beautiful, brave mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed,” it read.
“I am 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 heart-breaking, and my heart is broken.
“We love you all.”
Janelle Kidman was 84. Her cause of death has not been revealed, but she had previously suffered from heart issues.
In 2022 Kidman told American radio program Fresh Air that she had returned to Australia from her home in Nashville, Tennessee, to look after her mother.
Kidman’s father, psychologist and academic Antony Kidman, died in 2014 after a fall. He was 74.
