Nicole Kidman reveals she’s in Australia to ‘take care of’ her unwell mother, 81

After arriving in Australia last month for the premiere of her latest film, Being The Ricardos, Nicole Kidman has revealed that she’s staying in the country to look after her 81-year-old mother Janelle, who is currently unwell.

The Oscar-winning actress spoke about her mother’s health issues during an interview on the Fresh Air podcast and shared that they recently visited the Matisse: Life & Spirit exhibit at the Art Gallery of NSW together.

“We're down here primarily to take care of my mother and to have her surrounded by her grandchildren,” Nicole told host Terry Gross.

“So luckily yesterday, even though Omicron is raging through this country, we were able to take her into the gallery after hours and show her the Matisse exhibit, which coming from a mother who's raised me in the arts, it was soothing balm. Matisse was soothing balm last night.”

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Elsewhere in the interview when asked about parenting, Nicole said she feels lucky to be able to see the world through her mother’s perspective.

“I'm at the place where I'm being given the chance to view the world, because of how close we are, my mum is giving me the chance to view the world through an 81-year-old woman's eyes,” she detailed.

“That is so beneficial right now because she's so cognizant. She has every brain faculty available, so she hasn't lost anything. She hasn't lost any memory, which is fascinating, and she's extremely bright.

“She's giving me access, because she's also very direct and very honest, and so I'm getting access to the world through her eyes, my mother's eyes, so, therefore, a part of me almost at 80… I’m drinking it in and learning.”

Nicole and Janelle were recently seen together at the Being The Ricardos premiere in Sydney last month, where they held hands on the red carpet.

The Nine Perfect Strangers star previously opened up to The Sydney Morning Herald in May 2020 about being separated from her mother while living in America.

“I would love to be able to have a cup of tea with Mum and sit on the balcony and talk about life, and have her tell me what I should be doing,” she said.

Nicole’s father, psychologist Antony Kidman, died from a heart attack in 2014 at the age of 75 after 50 years of marriage to Janelle.

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