Nicole Kidman is taking a nostalgic walk down memory lane as she celebrates an extraordinary milestone—41 years in the film industry. The acclaimed actress shared a poignant throwback video on Instagram, capturing her very first role at the tender age of 14 where she looks remarkably like her teen daughter Faith, who is now 13. This special post comes just as Nicole is set to receive the prestigious American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award.
The video montage features a young Nicole in her debut film, Bush Christmas (1983), where she played Helen. Accompanying the clip, Nicole expressed her amazement at the journey her career has taken since those early days. “This 14-year-old girl could have never predicted all the talented people she would get to work with and the many different characters she would get to play. So excited to celebrate with so many friends and peers on Saturday with the @AmericanFilmInstitute xx,” she wrote in her heartfelt caption.
Nicole’s breakout role in the U.S. came six years after her debut, with her compelling performance as Rae Ingram in Dead Calm (1989). Since then, her career has been a dazzling array of diverse roles and critical accolades.
The news of Nicole receiving the AFI Life Achievement Award was announced in 2023, making her the first Australian actor ever to earn this honor. The American Film Institute praised her in a press release: “Both a powerhouse performer, spellbinding movie star and accomplished producer, Nicole Kidman has captured the imaginations of audiences throughout her prolific career, delivering complex and versatile performances onscreen.”
Her remarkable filmography includes collaborations with some of the most revered directors in the industry, such as Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Baz Luhrmann, Sydney Pollack, Aaron Sorkin, and Stanley Kubrick. Nicole won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2003 for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours. In addition to this Oscar win, she has been nominated four more times for her roles in Moulin Rouge! (2002), Rabbit Hole (2011), Lion (2017), and Being the Ricardos (2022).
Her trophy case also boasts a BAFTA Award, two Emmys, and six Golden Globes. Reflecting on her extensive career, Nicole shared with People magazine how it feels to have grown up in the spotlight: “I started working at 14, and I’ve grown up on camera and in front of people, so that’s really exposing, but at the same time, it’s my path. I’ve shared my ups and downs with the world and also shared all of my work. That’s been my life…my children, my husband and my work.”
She also revealed what advice she would give to her younger self, emphasizing the importance of self-compassion: “Be kind to yourself. I’m my toughest critic. My biggest thing would be ‘Go easy on yourself, Nicky.'”
Baz Luhrmann, who worked with Nicole on Moulin Rouge, told The New York Times: “You tend to find brilliant character actors, or you find someone who has star quality. What’s quite unique about Nicole is that she is both an amazing character actress — she completely absorbs into the character — but she burns so brightly as a star onscreen as well. She has both qualities, and that’s pretty extraordinary. Because [“Moulin Rouge!”] was a musical, I needed her to do high comedy, almost slapstick like Katharine Hepburn. The scene inside the elephant shows her complete out-thereness, throwing her dress around and making funny noises. I didn’t specifically instruct her to do it. I just said, ‘How far can you go here?’ And she went there. And that’s really true of Nicole.”
The celebration of Nicole’s illustrious career will culminate at the AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute, scheduled for April 27 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The event promises to be a star-studded affair, honoring a true icon of cinema. Fans can look forward to the broadcast, which will air on TNT and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) at a later date, marking yet another high point in Nicole’s remarkable journey through Hollywood.
Nicole Kidman shares her two youngest daughters, Sunday, 14, and Faith, 12, with her country star husband, Keith Urban – and they are largely kept out of the spotlight. However, the award-winning actress’ children have shown that they are just as interested in acting as their mom – making several subtle appearances in her shows in recent times. Sunday and Faith were both among the extras playing school children in The Undoing, in which Nicole starred in 2020 alongside Hugh Grant.
The proud mom opened up about her girls’ big moment during an interview with News.com.au, revealing that they even got a line! She said: “They’re used to being extras, but they did five days in the freezing New York cold, never complained, and didn’t get any special treatment. And then one day they came home and said, ‘We got a line!'”
Other extra work on Sunday and Faith’s resumes include starring in Big Little Lies, where Nicole plays one of the main characters, Celeste Wright. The popular HBO drama saw Sunday and Faith play school children yet again in the second series back in 2019, marking their debut on the big screen. While they didn’t have talking parts, their names still featured in the credits at the end of the program.
Sunday and Faith made their last public appearance in 2021 at the virtual Golden Globes, where they were dressed up for the glitzy event alongside their famous parents while at home in Australia.
Along with Sunday and Faith, Nicole is also mom to two grown-up children, Isabella, 30, and Connor, 27, who she shares with ex-husband Tom Cruise. Bella and Connor are both following in their father’s Scientology footsteps and are passionate about the religion. Their mom Nicole was previously asked about her children’s decision to follow the church, telling The Sun in 2019: “Motherhood is about the journey. There are going to be incredible peaks and valleys, whether you are an adopting mother or a birth mother. What a child needs is love. They have made choices to be Scientologists. It’s our job as a parent to always offer unconditional love.”
In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Nicole opened up about motherhood. She said: “[I do] not have a big social life. I have my work, I have my family, I have my own inner landscape that I explore. I choose that probably more than I choose to be out partying.”
Nicole Kidman credits her teenage daughters for keeping her grounded after red carpet debut. Despite her illustrious career and numerous accolades, it is clear that her family remains her top priority, providing her with a sense of normalcy and grounding her in the midst of Hollywood’s glitz and glamour.
Source: People, The New York Times, News.com.au, The Sun, Harper’s Bazaar
