Inside Nicole Kidman's complicated relationship with children Bella and Connor from her marriage to Tom Cruise Nicole Kidman's adopted kids, Bella and Connor, send support to their mum They have not appeared with their mum since 2007 READ MORE: Nicole Kidman's mother died hours before she was awarded Venice acting gong By Louise Allingham and Bridie Pearson-jones For Mailonline and Mary Mrad For Daily Mail Australia Published: 12:22, 16 September 2024 | Updated: 12:23, 16 September 2024 e-mail View comments She's often played a doting mother on screen and is close to her two youngest children Sunday Rose Urban, 16, and Faith Urban, 14. But Nicole Kidman's relationship with her eldest two children is decidedly more strained. The 57-year-old actress remains tight-lipped about Bella, 31, and Connor, 29, who she has not been seen with in public for 16 years.
However, the Oscar-winning Australian was reportedly touched to receive a heartfelt letter from her two adopted children following the recent death of her mother - despite her fractured relationship with the pair. The A-lister once hinted Bella and Connor are 'loyal to their father' and 'don't call her mum' having 'chosen Scientology' over her when she split with Cruise. However, after the actress' mother Janelle died unexpectedly at the age of 84, the siblings reached out with an emotional letter suggesting the relationship isn't acrimonious.
Nicole Kidman was reportedly touched to receive a heartfelt letter from her two adopted children following the recent death of her mother - despite her fractured relationship with the pair The 57-year-old actress remains tight-lipped about Bella, 31, and Connor, 29, who she has not been seen with in public for 16 years Nicole found out her mother had passed just hours after landing in Italy for the Venice Film Festival to promote her latest film Babygirl. She was awarded Best Actress for her role in the film but director Halina Reijn accepted the award on her behalf reading a statement from the actor. 'Today I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after, that my beautiful, brave mother Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed,' the statement read.
'I am in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her, she shaped me, she guided me, and she made me. 'I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina, the collision of life and art is heart-breaking, and my heart is broken. We love you all.
' In response to the shocking news, Bella and Connor reportedly penned a letter to their mother offering their sympathies and support . According to Woman's Day , the actress is happy to hear from her children and would love to have 'them back in her life'. After the Aussie-born actress' mother Janelle died at the age of 84, the siblings reached out with an emotional letter suggesting the relationship isn't acrimonious Little is known about Nicole Kidman's relationship with adopted kids Bella and Connor (pictured with then husband Tom Cruise in 1996 in Sydney) Nicole was regularly seen wit her children in the early noughties, but they haven't been pictured together since 2007.
Seen in 2004 at a Los Angeles Lakers game 'The most heartwarming thing has been for Nicole to get a joint message from Bella and Connor, who she's not heard from in a very long time,' a source said. 'It's kind of sad it took such a tragic moment to bring them back into her life, but she knows it would make her mum so happy if her passing brought her estranged grandkids back into the family.' Read More Nicole Kidman says 'no such thing as a perfect marriage' as she discusses husband Keith Urban The source also said that Nicole is willing to take time out of her career to give her relationship with her kids 'its best shot '.
Bella and Connor are the only children Nicole shares with her ex-husband . The pair adopted their daughter in 1992 and son in 1995. Throughout her relationship, the family were often pictured together, but following her split from the Top Gun star in 2001 the pair reportedly stayed 'loyal to their father' and decided to live with him - meaning they were raised in the controversial Church of Scientology .
The Big Little Lies star has refused to talk about the religion or her family ties in recent years and she is said to have been absent from many of her children's life events, including Bella's wedding at the Dorchester Hotel in London in 2015, despite living in the city at the time. Nicole has two biological daughters with her husband Keith Urban, they are pictured in 2014 in Sydney Connor and Bella are pictured in London, where Bella lives with her husband The Big Little Lies star hasn't been pictured publicly with her eldest two children since 2007, and she was reportedly left 'devastated' after the pair didn't attend her father's funeral in 2014. In 2018, while accepting her Best Actress Golden Globe , the Nine Perfect Strangers star thanked her biological daughters and second husband Keith Urban - but didn't mention Connor or Bella.
In an interview with British morning show, GMTV, shortly after her last appearance with Bella and Connor, she revealed Bella and Connor refer to her by her name. 'My kids don't call me Mommy, they don't even call me Mom. They call me Nicole, which I hate,' she said.
Kidman has previously insisted she does keep in contact with Connor and Bella, despite them choosing to live with Cruise when they split. 'They live with Tom, which was their choice,' she said. 'I'd love them to live with us, but what can you do?' She added to E! News: 'Everybody has their own path and when they find their path it's such a relief as a parent.
' The last photo of Nicole in public with her two oldest children was taken in March 2007 at the Kids' Choice Awards in LA Nicole wraps her arm around Connor during the 2003 Presentation of the 18th Annual American Cinematheque Award honoring Nicole Kidman at the Beverly Hilton The mother-of-four turned away from the church of Scientology when she split from Tom Cruise, a notorious and outspoken member of the controversial church. The Top Gun star allegedly banned Nicole from Connor's 2019 wedding to another high-ranking Scientologist. 'Tom is behind this and what he wants is as good as law,' a source told RadarOnline.
com at the time . 'Tom made the call and Connor followed.' Connor, a former DJ who is now into deep sea fishing, 'worships the ground his father walks on' the source added, claiming he would never disobey the actor.
In 2018, Nicole broke her silence about her adopted children again while speaking with Who Magazine implying their fractured relationship stemmed from their religious differences. 'I'm very private about all that. I have to protect all those relationships.
I know 150 per cent that I would give up my life for my children because it's what my purpose is,' she said. 'They are adults. They are able to make their own decisions.
They have made choices to be Scientologists and as a mother, it's my job to love them. Connor is said to be 'loyal to his dad' and is often pictured with him, the pair are seen in 2013 Connor and Tom are often together, they are seen in 2015 in Tampa 'And I am an example of that tolerance and that's what I believe – that no matter what your child does, the child has love and the child has to know there is available love and I'm open here. 'I think that's so important because if that is taken away from a child, to sever that in any child, in any relationship, in any family – I believe it's wrong.
So that's our job as a parent, to always offer unconditional love.' She apparently hoped Bella and Connor would be present when was the first Australian to receive the Life Achievement Award at the The American Film Institute (AFI) ceremony back in June - but they did not attend. Before the event, alleged source told Australia's New Idea: 'Nicole knows Connor is extremely loyal to his dad so she doesn't expect him to come, but the invitation is there for both of them.
'It's an event they have every right to celebrate along with the rest of Nicole's family,' they continued. 'Nicole is trying to limit her expectations, but is clinging to hope Bella might make it'. Connor is pictured with Keith Urban ahead of his wedding to Nicole Kidman on a boat in Sydney Harbour in 2006 The last time she was photographed with Connor in public was at the Annual Kids' Choice Awards in Los Angeles in 2007, when he was just 13.
However, the family deny there is a rift. In 2014, she told Woman's Weekly that 'they are generous, kind and hardworking. And these are traits that I love to see in my children'.
At the time she also described her film Lion - where she plays an adoptive mother - as a 'love letter' to her children. In the same year, Connor also said: 'I don't care what people say. I know that me and mum are solid.
I love her a lot. My family means everything,' he said. Speaking to MailOnline in 2016, Bella said: 'Of course [we talk], they're my parents,' she says.
'Anyone who says otherwise is full of s**t. In 2012 she told New Idea: 'I love mom. [Nicole's] my mom.
She's great. I see her sometimes and I speak to her,' adding 'we're a very close family. I love all of our family.
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