Nicole Kidman Love, Laughter & Lies

The Aussie star opens up to Jenny Cooney about her career renaissance, the power of female friendships and the joy of finding true love later in life.

Nicole Kidman may well be Hollywood’s quintessential Renaissance woman. At 51, a time when most Hollywood actresses bemoan the lack of substantial roles and the fading lustre of their careers, Nicole is riding the crest of a professional wave that has reinvigorated her presence and longevity in a notoriously capricious industry that often abandons genuine talent if it’s not wrapped in a vivacious 30-something package.

Yet here stands Nicole, who strode onto the Hollywood stage almost 30 years ago as Tom Cruise’s love interest in Days of Thunder, defiantly winning accolades and honours not only for her moving, complex roles on screen but also for her skill and acumen as a producer.

Underpinning this professional revitalisation – Big Little Lies, the HBO TV series which Nicole starred in and co-produced with actress Reese Witherspoon, received an astounding 16 Emmy nominations and won eight, including a personal Emmy for Nicole as Best Actress – is yet another successful second act, one that forms the perfect foundation for her recent triumphs.

That foundation is the commitment, security and affection Nicole has found with the great love of her life, country superstar Keith Urban, the father of her daughters, Sunday Rose, nine, who goes by Sunny, and Faith Margaret, seven, who Nicole affectionately calls Fifi.

“We’re told that the chances of finding love get less as you get older,” says Nicole, who was just 23 when she married fellow actor Tom Cruise and from whom she split in 2001, wondering if she would ever be happy again. “So, that’s why I actually like to say to women now, ‘No, I did meet the love of my life at 40’. That’s a really important thing to emphasise because it’s a beautiful thing; because if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”