Nicole Kidman remembers one tragic night post Keith Urban divorce: 'I was completely devastated'

Nicole Kidman recently called to mind a painful moment when she received news of her mother Janelle Ann Kidman’s death.

For those unaware, Janelle passed away at the age of 804 on September 7, 2024. It was reported that she had been fighting a long battle but the exact cause of her death has not yet been revealed. Kidman was attending Venice Film Festival when the tragic news of her mother’s passing reached her.

On Saturday, April 18, The Perfect Couple actress sat with Hoda Kotb at HISTORYTalks in Philadelphia, where she admitted to feeling ecstatic at that time, as she had secured the festival's Best Actress award for her performance as Romy in Babygirl.

She shared, "I was about to go onstage and I found out my mother had died and I went right back to the room in Venice, got into bed and was completely devastated and thought, 'I do not know how I'm gonna move forward or function now.'"

"She was so much a part of my existence. So, the idea of being there at that particular moment was parole,” Kidman said.

After she became able to think, she tried to depart Venice in the middle of the night to be there with her family during the most difficult time.

Kidman recollected, “I remember getting into a boat in the canal, literally at night, trying to find my way to the airport, and then turning around going, ‘I can’t even do this.’”

“Then I went back to bed. And I was alone. My husband wasn’t there, my children weren’t there. I was there to win an award, which should’ve been a beautiful thing. That there is the contrast of life,” the Scarpetta star recalled, alluding to her now ex-husband Keith Urban.

It is pertinent to mention that Nicole Kidman, who learnt “resilient” from that painful experience, announced her separation from Urban in September 2025.

The couple, who tied the knot in 2006 and welcomed two daughters, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, which was finalized in January 2026.