Following the death of her mother Janelle in September, Nicole Kidman spoke about wanting to quit acting back in 2008 and her mom’s advice to her.
At that point, Nicole was already well known for movies like Moulin Rouge!, The Hours, and Cold Mountain. She had also adopted two children with her ex, Tom Cruise. However, in 2006, Nicole married Keith Urban.
In a new interview with CBS News, Nicole was asked if she’d ever considered giving up on acting. “Yeah,” she replied. “When I gave birth to Sunday [Kidman-Urban], I was like, ‘Well, I think I’m pretty much done now.'”
Nicole credits her mother with keeping her in the industry, explaining, “I moved to Nashville. We were living on a farm, and that’s when my mother said, ‘I wouldn’t give up completely. Keep a finger sort of in it.’ And I’m like, ‘No, no. I’m done now. I’m done.’ She’s going, ‘Just listen to me. Keep moving forward. Not saying that you have to do it to the level you’ve been doing it, but I wouldn’t give it up completely.’”
“That came from a woman who obviously was from a generation that didn’t have the opportunities that I had, that she had helped create for her daughters,” she added, noting that her sister became a lawyer in her 40s with six children. “So that’s probably something that she wished she’d had when she was little.”
As she further said she finds inspiration from other women with careers and family, the actor said she “constantly” finds herself juggling family and work: “Finding that balance is part of the journey. You make mistakes, you overdo it. So then you go, ‘Okay, now I need to go and take care of this part of my life because it suffered.'”
Adding that her husband often tells her “take care of yourself,” she continued, “I try to listen more now. I’ve had many other people say it to me, too. The final words my momma said — which I didn’t know were going to be the final words. I was going to get on a plane and go back to see her, and she was like, ‘Maybe wait a minute because I think you need to take care of yourself right now, Nicky.’ So I’m doing that more.”
“Obviously, I’m an older mother so I want to be around for a long time for my girls. They’re amazing girls and I’m lucky to have them. Taking care of myself so that I can take care of them,” she added.
You can watch the full interview here.