Nicole Kidman has been left heartbroken after the death of her beloved mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, and the actress is still coming to terms with the loss
Nicole Kidman was visibly moved as she accepted the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival’s international star award, dedicating her win to her late mother Janelle Ann Kidman.
The 57-year-old actress, honoured for her role in ‘Babygirl’, struggled to hold back tears during the ceremony on Friday, January 3. After expressing gratitude to director Halina Reijn for her part in the film, Nicole opened up about her ongoing grief following her mother’s passing in September.
Overcome with emotion, she said: “Thank you for giving me the chance to say, ‘This is for my mom’. My whole career has been for my mom and my dad, who are not here now. I’m still going to keep working and giving to the world because I love what I do and I love you all, and I’m so grateful for the privilege to be a part of the film community. ” She added, apologising for her tears, “I’m sorry that I’m crying, I didn’t want to do that. But I feel my mom right now so this is for you.”
Previously on CBS Sunday Mornings in December, Nicole had spoken candidly about her right to grieve on her own terms, saying: “Wow, three months on, and people say to me ‘Yeah, she was 84, a good life…’ But that was my mom. It doesn’t matter what age someone is. There is no limit on grief, you don’t have to have a time limit on it, you don’t have to be all better by this time.
“You’re allowed to pass through in waves and people go ‘Oh well, whatever’, but it’s my mama, my life, and I’m allowed to process and grieve in the way I want to.”
The actress also opened up about being an older mother to her children, including Bella, 31, and Connor, 29, with ex-husband Tom Cruise, and Sunday, 16, and Faith, 13, with husband Keith Urban. She revealed that her own mother had advised her to prioritise her health, saying: “And the final words my mama said to me, I was gonna get on a plane, and she said ‘Maybe wait a minute, because you just need to take care of yourself, Nicky.’ “Kidman added that she is taking her mother’s words to heart, saying: “I’m doing that more, and I say that to other people in the world. Particularly, women, I think we tend not to care of ourselves. We take care of everybody else but the last person is here.”
She also shared the wisdom passed down from her grandmother, who told her to “My grandmother left me with ‘be happy’ and my grandmother said ‘Take care of yourself. ” and “And the final words my mama said to me, I was gonna get on a plane, and she said ‘Maybe wait a minute, because you just need to take care of yourself, Nicky.’ ” As an older mother, Kidman wants to prioritise her health so she can be around for her daughters, saying: “I’m an older mother so I wanna be around a long time for my girls, they’re amazing girls and I’m lucky to have them so taking care of myself so that I can take care of them.”
She added: “I would like to be around for a long time. Who knows? I don’t get to choose that.”
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