Nicole Kidman honored her late mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival on Friday.
The “Babygirl” actress, 57, got on stage to accept the international star award which she dedicated to Janelle, who died in September at age 84.
“I had good love growing up and I’m in that place now. I went home over Christmas and I’ve lost both my parents. So I’m in that place of going, ‘Huh, okay, this is different now,’” said Kidman, whose dad, Antony Kidman, died in 2014 at age 75.
“But they’ve given me the resilience, they’ve given me the love, and they’ve given me the strength to keep moving forward,” she continued.
The “Big Little Lies” star admitted that she’s “still grieving” her mom less than 4 months after her passing.
“I wanna dedicate — because I didn’t get to do it at the Venice Film Festival. I didn’t get to do that because I arrived in Venice and she was gone,” Kidman recalled as she began crying. “I got the call and I said to Halina [Reijn], ‘Can you come on stage for me and accept the award for me.’ And she did. But now I’m on stage and I’m back here.”
Kidman went on, “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.”
“I’m sorry I’m crying. I didn’t want to do that,” the actress said. “But I feel my mom right now so this is for you, mama.”
On Sept. 7, Kidman left the Venice Film Festival early because of her mom’s death.
Reijn, who directed Kidman in “Babygirl,” accepted the festival’s Volpi Cup award for Best Actress on Kidman’s behalf, and read a statement aloud from the Oscar winner about Janelle’s death on stage.
“Today, I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after that my beautiful, brave mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, has just passed,” Reijn, 49, read to the audience. “I’m 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 statement continued. “The collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken.”
Kidman later revealed what her mom’s final words to her were.
“She was like, ‘Maybe wait a minute because I think you just need to take care of yourself right now, Nicky,’” Kidman said on “CBS Sunday Morning” last month.
Kidman explained that she didn’t know Janelle was going to pass away when she traveled to Venice.
Back in 2020, Kidman told the Sydney Morning Herald that her mom always supported her throughout her career in Hollywood.
“She’s given me the fire to pursue the career I have because I’ve always wanted to please her,” Kidman said. “But she also carved her own path and wanted her daughters to have the same opportunity to carve their own paths.”
“Mum didn’t necessarily get the career that she wanted, but she was determined that her daughters would have opportunities that were equal,” she went on. “That’s given me my life. And she gave me my life, she and my dad.”
