Nicole Kidman reveals the one parenting role she won't play

Nicole Kidman says she's not interested in being her daughters' "best friend" as she'd rather be their foundation. 

The 59-year-old actress, who shares daughters Sunday, 18, and Faith, 15, with ex-husband Keith Urban, opened up about her parenting philosophy in an interview with Australia's Daily Telegraph, saying, "You're a mother first. You're a mother, but you're also a guide, a mentor, a safe haven, the place you can always come home to." 

"But ultimately, as I always say to my kids, no, I'm not here to be your best friend, I'm here to actually be the person who is your rock."

Kidman, who also shares two adopted children, Bella and Connor, with ex-husband Tom Cruise, has been promoting her new film, Practical Magic 2. 

She attended a screening in Sydney on Friday with Faith by her side, explaining that while Sunday was busy with work, Faith insisted on accompanying her mother so she wouldn't travel alone.

Sunday has been building a modeling career, landing jobs with major brands like Miu Miu, Calvin Klein, and Christian Dior. 

Kidman recently shared that her own mother encouraged her to support Sunday's modeling ambitions, recalling a conversation they had before her mother passed away in September 2024. 

Her mother reminded her that she'd once let Kidman pursue her own passion for acting at age 14, telling her she needed to extend her daughter the same freedom.

“As a mother, I’m just, like, ‘OK.’ My mother let me do my passion that I wanted when I was 14. Actually, before my mumma passed, she was there and I said, ‘Oh, should I let her? She wants to model,’” she told Entertainment Tonight.

Nicole recalled her mother Janelle Ann Kidman then replying, “'Well, you did it'.” 

The actress continued, “I went, ‘OK’. That was sort of my mumma’s parting gift to Sunny was [that] she encouraged me to let her be able to follow her bliss and follow her passion and what she wanted. That’s exactly what she said, ‘You, kind of, have to let her because I let you.’”