Nicole Kidman‘s mother, Janelle, has died. People reports that Kidman left the Venice Film Festival early after she received the news of her mother’s death on Saturday (Sept. 7).
Kidman was on hand at the festival to accept a Best Actress award for her role in her latest film, Babygirl. She departed the festival before her scheduled acceptance speech, and the film’s director, Halina Reijn, read a statement that Kidman wrote, saying she had arrived in Venice, then found out “shortly after that my beautiful, brave mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, has just passed.”
“I’m in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her,” Kidman’s statement continued. “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 collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken.”
A representative for Kidman confirmed her mother’s death to People, adding, “The family is heartbroken and asks for privacy at this time.”
Kidman spoke glowingly of her mom in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald in 2020, calling her “my mentor, my guide and my nurturer.”
“She’s given me the fire to pursue the career I have because I’ve always wanted to please her,” the Oscar winner added. “But she also carved her own path and wanted her daughters to have the same opportunity to carve their own paths.”
Neither Kidman nor her husband, Keith Urban, have posted to social media about her mother’s death yet. Kidman called Urban her “rock” after her father died in September of 2014.
Sterling Whitaker is a Senior Writer and Senior Editor for Taste of Country. He focuses on celebrity real estate, as well as coverage of Yellowstone and related shows like 1883 and 1923. He’s interviewed cast members including Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Sam Elliott and Harrison Ford, and Whitaker is also known for his in-depth interviews with country legends including Don Henley, Rodney Crowell, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs and more.
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