Kidman had been in Venice for the annual film festival when she received word of her mother’s death. She subsequently left the premiere early.
"Today I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after, that my beautiful, brave mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed,” Babygirl director Halina Reijn read a statement on Kidman’s behalf during the September 7 premiere. “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.”
The statement added, “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.”
One week later, Nicole and sister Antonia expressed their gratitude for the condolences.
“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 via Instagram on September 12. “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.”
A cause of death for Janelle, who died at age 84, has not been publicly shared. Kidman had previously hinted that her mother was in ailing health.
“We’re down here [in Australia] primarily to take care of my mother and to have her surrounded by her grandchildren,” Kidman previously said on NPR’s “Fresh Air” podcast in January 2022. “So luckily, last — yesterday, even though [COVID-19 strain] Omicron is raging through this country, we were able to take her into the gallery after hours and show her the Matisse exhibit, which, coming from a mother who’s raised me in the arts was very, very — it was soothing balm.”
Kidman had relocated to Australia with Urban and their teenage daughters Sunday, 16, and Faith, 13. The Big Little Lies alum, who also shares two adult children with ex-husband Tom Cruise , previously was based in Nashville with her family.
“I’ve lived in Nashville longer than anywhere I’ve ever lived, so it’s very much home for me,” Urban told The Times . “Both of our girls were born here so it’s their home town.”
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