Becoming a parent is a huge life-changing event. Nicole Kidman thought so too, and she almost quit acting for good when she had children with her husband, Keith Urban. Fortunately for her, good advice from her late mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, helped her put things in perspective, allowing her to lead a more balanced life between work and family.
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She talked about motherhood and work balance with CBS Sunday Morning while promoting Babygirl, her latest film. "When I gave birth to [Sunday Rose Kidman-Urban], I was like, 'Well, I think I'm pretty much done now,' Kidman said. However, her mother didn't think she needed to go to the extent of quitting altogether.
"We were living on a farm, and that's when my mother said, 'I wouldn't give up completely. Keep a finger sort of in it," Kidman said. She would insist to her mother that she was "done now," but Janelle Ann Kidman insisted. "Just listen to me. Keep moving forward," Kidman's mother told her, according to her. Not saying that you have to do it to the level you've been doing it, but I wouldn't give it up completely."
Nicole Kidman was receptive to her mother's advice. "That came from a woman who was from a generation that didn't have the opportunities that I had, that she had helped create for her daughters," she said. "So that's probably something that she wished she'd had when she was little."
A Mother's Advice
Kidman continued acting after her kids with Urban were born. And some great acting too: she became an Oscar-nominated actress multiple times, cementing her as the icon she is in the industry. It is safe to say that her mother's influence was big on Kidman. So, when, unfortunately, Janelle Ann Kidman passed in September 2024, Nicole was not in the best place.
Her mother's final words to her aligned with the advice she offered her when her kids with Urban were born. "Maybe wait a minute, because you just need to take care of yourself, Nicky," her mother told her, according to Kidman. She has since then taken her mother's advice, spending more time with her children and taking care of herself.
