Nicole Kidman misses TIFF premiere of Babygirl after mom's death, director says she was ‘excited’ to attend
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Nicole Kidman chose not to attend the North American Premiere of her upcoming film Babygirl at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival, as she continues to mourn the death of her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman. As per People, the actor was ‘excited’ to attend the festival, said the director of the film Halina Reijn.
What the director said
Halina Reijn came up on stage and introduced the film ahead of the premiere. She then addressed Nicole's absence and said, “We just came back from Venice where we had the world premiere of our movie, and it was quite an emotional experience as you might have read because Nicole Kidman had just won the award for best actress.”
She went on to add, "Unfortunately, right before she was going to go on the stage and accept the award, she sadly heard of her mother's passing and had to rush off to her family, and that's why she's not here with us tonight. But she wanted all of us to know that she was so excited for this day. It's very special to us. This is our North American premiere."
More details
Nicole was announced the winner of the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the closing ceremony of Venice Film Festival by Jury President Isabelle Huppert. There too, Halina took the stage, and read a statement on behalf of Nicole: “Today, I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after my brave and beautiful mother, Janelle Anne Kidman, had just passed. I’m in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her.”
The statement continued, “She shaped me, she guided me and she made me. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina. The collision of life and art is heartbreaking. My heart is broken.”
In Babygirl, Nicole plays a successful businesswoman who seemingly has a comfortable personal life with her husband Antonio Banderas. Trouble arrives when a new intern Harris Dickinson joins her company and she starts an affair with him. The film will be released in U.S. theaters by A24 on December 25.
