Nicole Kidman is mourning the loss of her mother Janelle Ann Kidman . The actress announced the death of her mom at age 84 through a statement that Halina Rejn , who directed her in Babygirl , read onstage at the Venice Film Festival Sept. 6 while accepting the star's award for Best Actress.
"Today, I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after, that my beautiful, brave mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed," Nicole's statement said. "I am in shock and I have to go to my family." The statement continued, "But this award is for her.
She shaped me, she guided me and she made me. I'm beyond grateful that I that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina. The collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken.
" The cause of Janelle's death was not made public. Nicole's mother, who worked as a nursing instructor, had suffered health issues in recent years. In 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oscar winner shared that she returned to her family's native Australia to be with her mom.
"We're down here primarily to take care of my mother," the now-57-year-old said in an NPR interview in January of that year, "and to have her surrounded by her grandchildren." Nicole added that the family visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales together. "Even though [the] omicron [variant] is raging through this country, we were able to take her into the gallery after hours and show her the Matisse exhibit," she said, "which coming from a mother who’s raised me in t.