KIM NOVAK: HEARTBREAK & Healing

THE ACTRESS AND ARTIST SHARES HER THOUGHTS ON MOVING FORWARD AFTER A TRAGIC LOSS

- Louise A. Barile & Katie Bruno

Kim Novak paints in a dreamy, impressionistic style that allows symbols to pop up unexpectedly. "A goat appeared on one canvas. I thought, 'Where is this goat coming from?" the Vertigo star tells Closer. Then Kim remembered: Before they started dating, her future husband, who was a large-animal veterinarian, treated one of her goats after it tried to eat wet cement.

Since the sudden passing of Robert Malloy, her husband of 44 years, in 2020, Kim, 89, has used her art to help fill the void in her life. "Painting a picture of him felt like we could still communicate in a warm and intimate way," she explains. "It made me feel less lonely."