NICOLE KIDMAN REFLECTS ON EMPOWERMENT, CONFIDENCE AND FRIENDSHIPS

Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Emmy winner Nicole Kidman is an internationally acclaimed actress and producer — and a fierce advocate for women. During Friday night’s General Session, Nicole joined Grand President MARLA NEELLY WULF for a facilitated conversation, sharing her reflections on friendship, leadership, confidence and inspiring women. Nicole spoke honestly and authentically, drawing from experiences gained through her wide-ranging career as well as her personal life.

Reflecting on her career trajectory, Nicole said she believed she hit her stride after turning 40, noting the energy she felt following the birth of her daughter and the opportunity to expand her skill set into producing. “In my 40s, instead of winding down, I amped up,” she said, reminding attendees it’s not necessary to have life figured out as a young woman. “For women that are at a different stage of their life, the possibilities can be extraordinary.” The additional career successes, coupled with her philanthropic priorities and advocacy work, meant Nicole found an increased need to seek balance in her life. “Sometimes it goes out of balance,” she said. “And, acknowledging that it goes out of balance is one of the ways of then balancing it. Because there’s no sort of even keel, I’ve found … It’s a constant rebalancing.”

With children as young as 10 and 12, Nicole said being present for her family means being intentional about setting boundaries — a process she still finds difficult. “I’ve learned to say, ‘let me get back to you,’” she said. “Rather than saying an immediate ‘yes,’ the greatest phrase for me is ‘I’m going to sleep on it’ — so I don’t make rash decisions and am not pressured into saying ‘yes.’ That key phrase of ‘let me sleep on it’ is such a good way to just get some time to be able to take a breath and think about something.”

Throughout her career, Nicole has prioritized philanthropic work and being an advocate for other women. She serves as Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, UN Women. She also has helped raise millions over the years for the Women’s Cancer Program, a world-renowned center for research into the causes, treatment, prevention, and eventual cure of women’s cancer. She attributes these passions to the influence of her mother, a nurse who shared her feminist ideals with Nicole and her sister and modeled selfless service to others. “She raised her two little girls to believe that we could do anything,” Nicole said. “But what she did give me — and I always say this to her — ‘Mama, the deepest thing you gave me was that philanthropic heart.’”

The concept of Sincere Friendships also resonates with Nicole, who like so many Pi Phis finds strength and inspiration in her relationships with other women. She recounted stories of watching her mother take care of friends in times of need, then watching her mother’s friends care for her in turn during her battle with breast cancer and the sudden death of her father. “When my father died, I saw all her friends rally around her, and it was such a shock to our family … Her friends just came and lifted her up — and I’m talking cooking, taking care of her, taking care of us,” she said. “I think that has the deepest impact, as a child and then a teenager and then a woman, when you see that. That, for me, is true love, true friendship — Sincere Friendship.”