Nicole Kidman Tears Up Dedicating Palm Springs Award to Her Late Mother: ‘I Feel My Mom Right Now’

The ‘Babygirl’ star’s mother Janelle Ann Kidman died in September 2024

Nicole Kidman on Jan. 3. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Nicole Kidman honored her late mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, by dedicating her latest award for the movie Babygirl to her.

On Friday, Jan. 3, Kidman, 57, received the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival’s international star award from Jamie Lee Curtis, who also mentioned Kidman’s mother.

After thanking Babygirl filmmaker Halina Reijn for casting her in the movie, Kidman noted that she is “still grieving” after Janelle’s death. Kidman teared up as she began to say she was dedicating the award to her mother, since she was unable to do so at the Venice Film Festival.

“Thank you for giving me the chance to say, ‘This is for my mom,’ ” Kidman said as the audience erupted in applause. “My whole career has been for my mom and my dad, who are not here now. I’m still going to keep working and giving to the world because I love what I do and I love you all, and I’m so grateful for the privilege to be a part of the film community.”

“I’m sorry that I’m crying, I didn’t want to do that,” Kidman said. “But I feel my mom right now so this is for you.”

Nicole Kidman wipes away tears during her speech on Jan. 3.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Kidman missed screenings of Babygirl in Venice and at the Toronto International Film Festival in September to be with her family after learning of her mother’s death. After the ceremony, Kidman and her sister Antonia Kidman thanked fans for the “outpouring of love and kindness.”

Nicole Kidman (right) and her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, in December 2018.James D. Morgan/Getty

“Every message we have received from those who loved and admired our Mother has meant more to us than we will ever be able to express,” Kidman and Antonia wrote. “Thank you from our whole family for respecting our privacy as we take care of each other.”

Kidman and Curtis, 66, have been working together in recent months on an upcoming Prime Video series titled Scarpetta, in which the pair will costar as sisters. The series is based on the novels by Patricia Cornwell; Kidman and Curtis are both executive producers.

Kidman’s award came for her performance in Babygirl, the erotic thriller she costars in with Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas. Her performance is also nominated at the Golden Globe Awards, airing Sunday, Jan. 5.

Nicole Kidman on Jan. 3.Chad Salvador/Variety via Getty

“Nicole Kidman once again showcases her unmatched talent for embracing bold and unexpected roles with remarkable ease. In Babygirl, she portrays a high-powered CEO whose life begins to unravel as she embarks on a dark, risky affair that threatens to shatter her carefully constructed world,” the festival’s chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi said of Kidman in a statement when the award was announced. “For this tour de force performance, we are honored to present her with the International Star Award, an accolade that truly embodies Nicole Kidman.”

Babygirl is in theaters now; other Palm Springs International Film Festival award honorees this year included The Brutalist‘s Adrien Brody, Ralph Fiennes and the ensemble of Conclave, Sing Sing‘s Colman Domingo, Anora‘s Mikey Madison and Emilia Perez‘s Karla Sofía Gascon, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Edgar Ramirez.