Nicole Kidman on Having ‘Incredibly Loving’ Daughters Support Her at AFI Awards: ‘It’s Beautiful’ (Exclusive)
The actress was joined by husband Keith Urban and their two teenage daughters as she was honored at the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala on April 27
Nicole Kidman is paying tribute to her “incredibly loving” teenage daughters.
On April 27, the actress, 56, was honored at the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala in Hollywood, California.
When asked what it was like to have Sunday Rose, 15, and Faith Margaret, 13, — whom she shares with husband Keith Urban — witness such special moments in her career, Kidman jokingly told PEOPLE, “You’ll have to ask them.”
“I think they’re just like … they want to get started on their own careers,” the actress continued of her daughters, whose attendance at the gala with Kidman and Urban, 56, marked their red-carpet debut.
“They are here to support me, and they’re very, very supportive and incredibly loving,” she added.
While they attended the award gala in support of their mom, Kidman’s daughters did have one particular part of the night they were especially looking forward to, she said.
“We’re going to do a post wrap-up at the house late, late tonight,” the Big Little Lies actress explained, adding, “There’s a party afterwards, and they’re like, ‘Oh, there’s a party?’ ”
“That’s what they’re excited about,” she teased.
Kidman also revealed that her “whole family” from Australia flew in to celebrate her milestone achievement, except for a few she said were missed, including her nephew Hamish, her mom, Janelle, who was “watching on a live stream” and her late father, Anthony, who died in 2014.
“My Papa is not here, but he is here. And it’s beautiful,” she said.
“It’s beautiful to have a family to be able to go and want to share this with you, because you don’t get to do that. A lot of the times, if you get invited to the Academy Awards, you get one ticket extra. So the idea of being able to have your family come to something like this is really exciting,” Kidman continued.
Still, the star said that having so many of her loved ones with her left her “a little distracted” as her maternal instincts kicked in. “I’m like a mother hen going, ‘Is everyone okay? Is everyone okay?’ ” she explained.
According to the American Film Institute’s website, the AFI Life Achievement Award, which has been presented since 1973, is given by the AFI to an “individual whose career in motion pictures has greatly contributed to the enrichment of American Culture,”
During her acceptance speech, the actress praised her husband, daughters and her family as a whole, as she said that while there is an “enormous amount of luck” in her life, “there’s also the most important thing, love.”
“Big, big love. And then right there is the love of my life, and the loves of my life. My daughters have never been anywhere publicly with me on a red carpet, tonight was their first night, so they’re here, Sunday and Faith,” she said.
As well as her family, Kidman was also supported by a host of celebrity friends, including Naomi Watts, Big Little Lies costars Meryl Streep and Reese Witherspoon, and Morgan Freeman, who worked with Kidman on the Paramount series Lioness.
Watts, 55, Witherspoon, 48, Urban and Zac Efron all gave touching speeches in honor of the actress during the ceremony.
