Big little career change.
Nicole Kidman revealed on Saturday that her mother Janelle Ann Kidmanâs September 2024 passing has inspired her to become a death doula, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
The actress, 58, acknowledged to University of San Francisco students during the schoolâs Silk Speakers series that the profession âsound[s] a little weirdâ â but explained why it is part of her âexpansion.â
âAs my mother was passing, she was lonely, and there was only so much the family could provide,â the âBig Little Liesâ star explained over the weekend.
âBetween my sister, [Antonia Kidman] and I, we have so many children and our careers and our work,â Nicole continued. â[We] want[ed] to take care of her because my father, [Antony Kidman], wasnât in the world anymore.â
Antony, notably, died in September 2014 at age 75.
In Janelleâs final days, Nicole thought, âI wish there [were] these people in the world that were there to sit impartially and just provide solace and care.
âSo,â the Oscar winner declared, âthatâs one of the things I will be learning.â
Death doulas are ânon-medical professionalsâ providing support to those ânavigat[ing] death, loss, and mortality,â according to the International End-of-Life Doula Association.
When Janelle passed away, Nicole had just landed in Italy for the Venice Film Festival to accept a best actress award for her âBabygirlâ role.
âI am in shock and I have to go to my family,â she wrote in a statement regarding the loss of her âbeautiful, brave mother.â
Nicole gushed over how her late parent âshaped,â âguidedâ and âmadeâ her, concluding, âMy heart is broken.â
Her then-husband, Keith Urban, subsequently gave the Times an update on how the Golden Globe winner was doing, saying his wife was âgood.â
Nicole broke her silence on her grief in an emotional âCBS Sunday Morningâ sitdown three months later, revealing her final conversation with her mother.
âI was going to get on a plane and go back to see her,â Nicole told viewers in December 2024. âAnd she was like, âMaybe wait a minute because I think you just need to take care of yourself right now, Nicky.ââ
At the time, Nicole was married to Urban â but news broke the following year that the duo had called it quits after 19 years of marriage and two children.
When their divorce was settled in January, Nicole was awarded primary residential custody of daughters Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15, with the country singer getting the girls âevery other weekend.â
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