Nicole Kidman was more unfiltered than ever while discussing her history of provocative on-screen roles with Vogue, just over a week after she filed for divorce from Keith Urban, her husband of 19 years. The 58-year-old opened up about playing sensual and complex female characters throughout her career, and shared that roles for women have evolved significantly since she first graced our screens. "As women actors are increasingly establishing production companies, roles have changed too," she told the publication.
Nicole added that intimacy on-screen is important, yet the topic is still largely taboo in society, "and it shouldn't be". The star has taken on several provocative parts over the years, including in 1989's Dead Calm, 1995's To Die For, 1999's Eyes Wide Shut, and more recently, Babygirl in 2024. When asked why she was drawn to these racy roles, Nicole candidly responded, "I don't know. Isn't that weird that I don't know why?"
The Oscar winner went on to explain that she loved to say yes to parts that she "can't even mentally grab", as it allowed her to try something new. "Taking a risk is what I've always done. You get back up and you try again and you learn...I still go back to shoestring indie filmmaking because it was where I was born."
Nicole also revealed that she uses the ups and downs of her personal life to inform her work on-screen. "That’s the beauty of what I do. There's a place for some of this to explode, implode, process, discover," she said. The mother of four added that someone would have to "tie me down, tie me up" to stop her from working, as she loves it so much.
Learn more about Nicole's role in Babygirl below...
During the interview, Nicole brushed over her recent split from Keith, musing, "How many times do you have to be taught that you think you know where your life is going and then it isn't going in that direction?" She explained that staying away from the online hate was integral to staying afloat when times got hard. "Literally walk away from it," she said. "Because it will fell you. It will destroy you."
Nicole's turn in the controversial film Babygirl saw her portray Romy, a CEO and mother who engages in an affair with her much younger staffer, played by Harris Dickson. She shared with The Hollywood Reporter that it was "really beautiful" to play an older woman exploring her sensuality, and that most women "are discarded at a certain period of their career".
"My character has reached a stage where she's got all this power, but she's not sure who she is, what she wants, what she desires, even though she seems to have it all," Nicole said. "And I think that's really relatable." Keith and Nicole split in 2025 after 19 years of marriage and two children together, despite appearing to be the perfect couple.
Nicole requested in the divorce papers that she be granted the role of the primary residential parent, and asked to care for the girls 306 days of the year, compared to 59 for Keith. They first met in 2005 at the G'Day USA Gala in LA, before tying the knot a year later in Sydney. The pair welcomed their eldest daughter, Sunday, in July 2008, and their youngest, Faith, in December 2010.