Nicole Kidman might be a Hollywood A-lister, but when it comes to making big decisions — even about her career — she’ll turn to her children and her husband for their input.
Speaking with television presenter and author Jessica Rowe at a Business Chicks lunch in Melbourne yesterday, the Oscar-winner and mother-of-four revealed “family meetings” at the dinner table are one way she makes sure everyone has a say, even if sometimes it means compromising.
“There will be times I say this is so important to my life happiness, I’d regret not doing it,” the 49-year-old said, “but I’m willing to discard those things that don’t give me that passion.”
The result is a healthy balance between work and personal life.
Kidman – who has two adult children with Tom Cruise and two young daughters with Keith Urban – gave the example of Photograph 51, a stage show she performed in London for four months in 2015.
While it was a big commitment, she felt she absolutely had to do it as a tribute to her father, who died the year before, which she described as “the biggest loss ever in my life”.
“The worst that can happen is everything falls apart and you put it back together,” she said.
The play was a hit and was picked up by Broadway in New York City. But when she sat down to flag the idea of another move with her daughters, six-year-old Faith Margaret and eight-year-old Sunday Rose, they “shut it down”.
Their father, Urban, backed them up.