Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are one of Hollywood’s most glamorous couples, but the Australian actress recently opened up about their humble beginnings in a new interview with Glamour UK.
Kidman Reveals ‘My Parents Came From Nothing’
“I’ve always been aware of privilege because both my parents came from nothing,” Kidman explained. “When we moved to America, we had nothing. My parents had to go to the Salvation Army and get a donated mattress, which we all slept on, while my mum helped put my dad through his Ph.D. as he came from a very poor family.”
The actress went on to say that having less than others created a desire in her family to help others: “When [my father] became a psychologist, he would offer his behavioral therapy for nothing if they didn’t have any money because he just wanted to help.”
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“I grew up with one of the gentlest, kindest fathers who was a giver and my mother was a nurse, so my family had that social conscience,” Kidman continued. Urban shares this “social conscience” due to his own upbringing.
Urban’s Upbringing Matched Her Own
“I also married a man who’s totally self-made and came from a background where he said every brick in his house is a gig,” the actress shared. “He grew up on a farm, literally in a shed. They didn’t have bedrooms. Four of them lived in a shed that subsequently burned down. They have talked of a community that came and helped their family because they had nothing.”
Why Kidman Feels ‘Confident’ When Taking Care Of Others
Another part of her early life that Kidman feels made her a more caring and compassionate person was taking care of her mother when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Kidman was just a teenager at the time.
She explained, “I’m an eldest child, my mother had breast cancer when I was 17, and I had to take care of her. That’s a place in which I feel confident and I feel good when I’m able to do it.” Kidman explained that she brings the same level of care and feeling towards taking care of her own daughters, Sunday and Faith.
“For a parent to say to a child, ‘You’re loved. You’re just loved,’ is the most important thing, and, ‘you can believe, you can do, you can be who you are, and I will love you,”” Kidman concluded. Her early life and struggles have made Kidman the caring person she is today.