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Home / Entertainment

Nicole Kidman has opened up on how her children pulled her out of grief

By Mathew Murphy
news.com.au·
30 Nov, 2019 09:55 PM2 mins to read

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Nicole Kidman has told about how her children helped her overcome grief. Photo / Getty Images

Nicole Kidman has told about how her children helped her overcome grief. Photo / Getty Images

Nicole Kidman has told how her children saved her from grief after the sudden death of her father, Dr Antony Kidman, in 2014.

Speaking to Tatler, Kidman says she was overwhelmed with sadness after her father died from a heart attack in Singapore in September 2014, aged 75.

"My three-year-old (Faith) said, 'But you're not going to be sad like this tomorrow, are you?' That's when you realise, you know, you have to be OK," she said. "Because they need to know that they're safe, that their mother isn't going to fall apart. Inside? I was beyond shattered. But I had to rally."

Antony and Nicole Kidman.  Photo / Supplied
Antony and Nicole Kidman. Photo / Supplied

She said her father's death gave her anxiety to the point where she was afraid of performing live.

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"I was never going to do theatre again. I didn't think my heart could handle the adrenaline and the fear," she said.

Actress Nicole Kidman and father Antony Kidman in 2002. Photo / Getty Images
Actress Nicole Kidman and father Antony Kidman in 2002. Photo / Getty Images

The actress adopted Isabella, 26, and Connor, 24, with ex Tom Cruise and is also mum to daughters Sunday Rose, 11, and Faith, eight, with husband Keith Urban.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban with their daughters Faith Margaret and Sunday Rose, 2017. Photo / Getty Images
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban with their daughters Faith Margaret and Sunday Rose, 2017. Photo / Getty Images

Isabella and Connor Cruise did not attend the funeral of their grandfather in Sydney.

Kidman previously shared with Who magazine that she respects the fact that her eldest children are Scientologists.

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Scientologists are forbidden from having close relationships with those outside the faith, with those individuals referred to as "suppressive persons".

"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.'

Nicole Kidman and her children Connor and Isabella. Photo / Getty Images
Nicole Kidman and her children Connor and Isabella. Photo / Getty Images

Kidman was not present for Isabella's 2015 wedding and is unexpected to be at son, Connor's wedding.

Actress Leah Remini said in her memoir, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, the former church member recalled being at Cruise's 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes and asking the children if they'd seen their mother recently.

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"Our mum is a f**king SP," Isabella told Remini.

However, since then the children have shown signs of support for Kidman.

When Isabella launched her clothing line she named it Isabella Kidman Cruise.

Also, Connor told Woman's Day in 2014 that he still had a relationship with his mother even if they aren't seen together.

"I love my mum," he 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. Yeah, I love my music, but the family comes before everything else."

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