Nicole Kidman has opened up about her life and career after being quizzed by almost two dozen A-Listers.
The Oscar nominated actress features on next month’s cover of Vogue Australia.
This is her twelfth time on the cover of the magazine.
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As part of the interview, which covered a wide range of topics, Kidman answered questions from a range of A-Listers.
The full list includes Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Elle Fanning, Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Joel Edgerton, Lulu Wang, Margot Robbie, Maisie Williams, Joey King, Zoe Saldaña, Christine Centenera, Shailene Woodley, Harris Dickinson, Alexander Skarsgård, Steven Klein, Troye Sivan, Adéla, Kylie Minogue, Bruna Papandrea, and Liane Moriarty.
While questions from actors Dickinson and Skarsgård were more mundane and related to advice on hosting Christmas or buying a washing machine and dryer, many others were deep and complimentary of Kidman.
The 59-year-old reflected on her 45 year acting career.
Pop princess Minogue asked the star about her memories of her breakout role in 1983 Australian film BMX Bandits.
After expressing her “enormous love” for “golden” Kylie, she said she remembered thinking how “hardcore” it was to do one of her own stunts in the film, later telling Pfeiffer that it was one of the roles where she had the most fun.
When asked about obstacles she faced in her youth by Luhrmann, Kidman candidly opened up about the difficulties she faced because of her height, particularly when it came to acting.
“I was the tallest in the class, taller than all the boys,” the actress said.
“I couldn’t fulfil being a ballet dancer because I was too tall.
“Even as an actress, I was told, ‘You’re too tall, because you’re taller than the leading man’.”
But she said that was what gave her fire.
‘Terrible’ on her phone
Big Little Lies co-star revealed that Kidman was “terrible” on her phone, which she conceded.
Nicole opened up about her life, motherhood, and her career. Credit: Nicolekidman, Instagram
“I can be late with texting, I don’t check my emails all the time; I’m just not that person,” the Practical Magic star said.
When asked what she does instead of scrolling, Kidman replied that she liked to be “emotionally present” in her life and spend time in nature.
While admitting that she has “doomscrolled”, she said it was important to have discipline when it came to devices.
Communal wardrobe
Kidman revealed that she shares clothes and shoes with daughters Sunday Rose, 18, and Faith, 15, with all three being the same size.
“I always go, ‘I don’t buy for me, I buy for us’,” she said.
The mum revealed that her 18-year-old “has the best boots” and that she wears her daughters’ jeans.
However, it is a two-way street with both daughters using her vintage wardrobe, which was set up with the assistance of “beautiful Dolly” Parton, “as a shop”.
Kidman told the outlet her relationship with fashion was akin to Cinderella.
“You get to dress up and feel good and then it all comes off and you go back to your real life, which I’ve always kinda loved,” she said.
When answering a question from Big Little Lies co-star Saldaña about balancing work life and family life, Kidman said there was “no such thing as perfection”.
“As I always say to my daughters, ‘if push came to shove, that all goes out the window, there is nothing more important than you’,” she said.
“That is so important for a child to hear.
“They know it, because they can call the set and if I’m in the middle of something, if they need me, they’ve got me.
“To know that you are absolutely the priority, that you will never, ever not be put first when it’s really needed, for me, that’s love.”
The one wish Kidman had growing up
The actress revealed to Barbie star Robbie that there was one role she always wanted to play when asked what her favourite Aussie television ad was.
“I always wanted to be in a McDonald’s commercial,” she said.
“When I was growing up, McDonald’s was it.”
Kidman revealed that the main reason was because she wanted “to be able to eat a Quarter Pounder on camera over and over again”.
“I never got cast,” she said.
Kidman’s favourite childhood memories
Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty asked a particularly poignant question about Kidman’s childhood memories.
“I know how much you miss your mum and dad. If I could grant you the opportunity to time travel back to a moment in your childhood, where and when would it be?” the author asked.
Kidman revealed that her family used to have beach holidays in Avoca and visit the Barrington Tops in NSW, north-west of Newcastle.
“I would go back to that Christmas holiday, that January, when there was not a care in the world,” she replied.
“We had a fake tree and tinsel. I love the smell of the summer and the gardenias.”
Pointing out the seasonal difference between her native Australia and the US, she said people were often confused when she talked about a beach Christmas.
“I’d go back there—my family, and being a little girl,” she said.
“But I can re-create it now for my kids, and I can re-create it maybe for grandkids.
“Bring on the tinsel and the beach.”
Finally comfortable in her skin at 59
Kidman is the namesake for Adéla’s song, which has amassed more than 180 million streams since its release.
She said it was an honour to have a song written about her, even though she did not quite understand it.
“My whole thing is to support these young artists, in whichever shape or form… She’s so young and so talented, and she can write hooks, right?” Kidman said.
“I didn’t hear the song, but she sent me the lyrics and I was like, ‘Yeah, go for it. Go for it, girl’.
“I have no idea what it means to feel like me, because I can feel like s..t, put it that way, and go, ‘I don’t feel like that today’.
“I think I’m just more comfortable in my own skin right now.
“That’s my new thing … Weird to get that at 59, but I’m glad to say I somehow got there.”
