How Nicole Kidman became Hollywood’s sexiest actress at 57 – after explicit S&M toyboy scene left her ‘ragged’

AS Nicole Kidman takes connected the astir explicit movie relation of her career, showbiz adept Nicole Lampert reveals however the 57-year-old histrion is making middle-age sexier than ever.

It wasn’t truthful agelong agone that Nicole Kidman helped marque middle-aged women the astir fashionable happening connected television, erstwhile Big Little Lies – which she starred successful and co-produced with Reese Witherspoon – became a monolithic hit.

Now, the prima – who was bullied astatine schoolhouse for her 5ft 11in framework and airy tegument – is besides starring the complaint to marque middle-age sexier than ever. 

First up, determination was that sizzling enactment country with Liev Schreiber – the ex-husband of her champion pal, histrion Naomi Watts – successful Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, which besides drew fevered speculation connected what cosmetic enactment she whitethorn person had done (More connected that later…).

And successful January comes 1 of Nicole’s wildest vocation challenges to date, with erotic thriller Babygirl.

In it, the 57 twelvemonth aged stars arsenic a happily joined but sexually parched woman, who starts up an S&M narration with a young antheral who works for her. 

It won a seven-minute lasting ovation astatine this year’s Venice Film Festival, wherever she scooped the Best Actress award, and is present generating important Oscars buzz.

But Nicole admits to immoderate trepidation astir the satellite seeing her astir explicit movie to date. 

“It’s like, golly, I’m doing this and it’s present going to beryllium seen by the world. That’s a precise weird feeling,” she told Vanity Fair successful August.

“This is thing you bash and fell successful your location videos.

“It is not a happening that usually is going to beryllium seen by the world.”

She added of making the film: “I felt precise exposed arsenic an actor, arsenic a woman, arsenic a quality being.”

The prima has ne'er shied distant from enactment scenes, though.

From 1999’s wide panned Eyes Wide Shut – which concisely enactment a kibosh connected her ambitions, arsenic good arsenic her matrimony to Tom Cruise – to 2017’s The Killing Of A Sacred Deer, she has already trodden wherever fewer A-listers person dared to measurement before.

But this is different.

As good arsenic the information she’s present astatine an property the movie manufacture does not typically equate with eroticism, Babygirl shows the pistillate successful charge.

Nicole’s besides said that having a pistillate director, Halina Reijn, helped her enactment “with abandonment”. 

“It near maine ragged,” she recalled.

“At immoderate constituent I was like: ‘I don’t privation to beryllium touched.

“I don’t privation to bash this immoderate more.’

“But astatine the aforesaid time, I was compelled to bash it.”

It is rather a measurement from erstwhile Nicole was an awkward, geeky kid increasing up successful Sydney, spending her clip hiding from the prima by speechmaking Russian novels successful her bedroom.

But it is besides emblematic that she should instrumentality the relation precise seriously. 

There is thing Nicole loves more, she has said, than radical telling her however her enactment has made a quality to them: “Those moments, they’re truly heavy – from a alien who feels similar they cognize you, emotion you, are portion of you due to the fact that of your work.” 

It’s an innate seriousness that Nicole herself acknowledges, telling Harper’s Bazaar successful 2022: “My parent says that I was calved intense.

“I person ever felt things truly deeply.”

It is possibly wherefore she, too, is publically protected by those astir her. 

‘I person my work, I person my household – I take that much than I take partying’

One movie contact, who was moving connected a amusement with the actress, was seemingly amazed to beryllium asked to motion a signifier agreeing not to speech to Nicole unless she spoke first, and not to look her successful the eye. 

While Nicole has had deals with manner companies, there’s nary marque representation for her, oregon overmuch societal media – lone work.

As I cognize from experience, successful interviews she gives an content of being open, but is hard to read.

Talk to her astatine parties and she’s polite, but ne'er gives overmuch away. 

She’s ne'er been the benignant to get drunk astatine showbiz bashes, oregon beryllium caught having a passionate enactment successful the street.

Even her high-profile divided successful 2001, aft 11 years with archetypal hubby Tom Cruise, 1 of the best-known actors successful history, remains mysterious.

She’s an old-fashioned enigma who pours her passionateness into her enactment – and it makes her 1 of the astir unconventional and breathtaking actresses around. And 1 of the busiest.

“Nicole ne'er seems to halt working,” says respected Australian amusement commentator Peter Ford, who has been chronicling Nicole’s vocation since it started.

“She’s beauteous overmuch admitted she’s driven and finds it hard to accidental nary to projects. 

“It’s a enactment ethic she’s inherited from her parents, further during those years post-Tom erstwhile she wasn’t hot.

“She knows what it’s similar erstwhile the telephone isn’t ringing.

“She besides knows the powerfulness and originative state she has present by generating her ain projects oregon being attached arsenic an enforcement producer.”

While Peter worries that immoderate of her TV projects are opening to look a small samey, repeatedly playing upper-middle people American women dealing with a crisis, helium says it is successful her movie enactment that she is being much experimental than ever.

“The TV bid she’s churning retired are ever entertaining, but I uncertainty anyone would see them to beryllium ground-breaking oregon adjacent particularly challenging her abilities,” helium says.

“But her choices successful movie roles are divers and risky.”

Acting was possibly a astonishing prime for Nicole, the girl of a socially conscious nursing teacher and objective psychologist.

But actors often autumn into 2 contradictory camps: those who aren’t comfortable in their ain tegument and similar to enactment connected the mantle of idiosyncratic else, and those who are earthy show-offs. Nicole is surely the former. 

She told 1 podcast that she’d spent astir of her puerility wishing she was 5ft 2in and curvy.

She was shy and had a stutter, admitting: “I inactive regress into that shyness,” yet had her archetypal nonrecreational relation connected signifier astatine the property of 14 aft watching The Wizard Of Oz.

“You consciousness similar a small miss who’s being fixed the accidental to measurement into this phantasy world,” she erstwhile said of acting.

Her archetypal movie was the Australian Bush Christmas successful 1983 and her prima wattage led her to TV bid Five Mile Creek.

As her roles grew, Nicole started to triumph acclaim successful Australia and successful 1989 had her archetypal Hollywood deed with Dead Calm.

However, it was Days Of Thunder – and the ensuing romance with starring antheral Tom Cruise – that was to marque her a worldwide name.

The brace joined and adopted 2 children, Connor, present 29, and Bella, 31.

It remains a root of symptom that erstwhile they divided successful 2001, the kids chose to enactment with their dad, raised successful the Church of Scientology. 

“Motherhood is astir the journey,” Nicole erstwhile said.

“There are going to beryllium unthinkable peaks and valleys, whether you are an adopting parent oregon a commencement mother.

“What a kid needs is love.”

According to histrion and erstwhile Scientologist Leah Remini, Nicole was seen arsenic a “suppressive person” by the movement, which bans interaction with radical who person near the church.

In her memoir, Leah recalled being with Connor and Bella, who present lives successful England, and asking if they’d seen their mum recently.

“Not if I person a choice,” Bella replied, according to the book.

“Our mum is simply a f**king SP [suppressive person].”

When Nicole won her archetypal (and truthful acold only) Oscar successful 2003 for her relation arsenic Virginia Woolf successful The Hours, her nonrecreational highest deed arsenic her backstage beingness was falling apart.

While the 2002 movie was critically acclaimed, she was mocked for the prosthetic chemoreceptor she wore for the role.

For immoderate years, arsenic she went from autarkic movie to autarkic movie – astir of which failed to marque a dent successful the container bureau – it felt like, portion she’d ne'er beryllium retired of a job, possibly her champion enactment was down her. 

Then, successful 2010, Nicole founded her ain accumulation company, Blossom Films, to make vehicles for actresses her age, saying determination was a “dearth of roles” for women.

She said: “At a definite age, it’s like, that’s it, you know?”

Big Little Lies, made with histrion and shaper Reese Witherspoon, created a inclination for stories that enactment women and their lives astatine the centre of a communicative – thing that was antecedently precise rare. 

“Where was the communicative astir these women and what they were going through? There wasn’t one,” Nicole said soon aft it became wide the 2017 bid – for which she netted Emmys for her acting and arsenic enforcement shaper – was going to beryllium a immense hit. 

‘They are a devoted mates and she is simply a superb mum’

She has 12 producing credits to her sanction now, and erstwhile asked however she juggles her workload, she admitted the concealed was to person nary societal beingness astatine all.

“I person my work, I person my family, I person my ain interior scenery that I explore. I take that astir apt much than I take to beryllium retired partying,” she said.

Her idiosyncratic beingness keeps her content, adjacent if it is uprooted, arsenic some Nicole and her instrumentalist hubby Keith Urban, 56, question a batch for work.

They met successful 2005 astatine the G’Day USA Gala, wherever she had to attack him, arsenic helium was intimidated – and they joined the pursuing year.

Home is simply a ranch successful Memphis, wherever they unrecorded with daughters Sunday Rose, 16, and Faith, 13. 

Peter says: “I can’t ideate they are astatine location unneurotic that much, yet they stay a precise devoted mates and she is simply a superb mum.” 

They are an progressive portion of the community, with Nicole taking an involvement successful a section crab centre, arsenic her beloved mum had the illness erstwhile she was a child. 

“I similar being portion of thing not astir my work, not astir who I am, nary of that. Just a national who’s successful the world,” she said.

Her parent Janelle – who she called “my mentor, my usher and my nurturer” died aged 84 past month, conscionable arsenic Nicole arrived successful Venice to prime up the Best Actress grant for Babygirl.

The nonaccomplishment presents a caller situation for the star, who relied heavy connected her mum – adjacent speechmaking lines with her.

But Nicole has often talked astir however Janelle “carved her ain path” – and wanted her daughters to bash the same.

Nicole surely has: inactive breaking barriers arsenic she heads towards her 60s, and forging a way for those who travel her. 

The changing look of Nicole Kidman

Plastic surgeon Dr Paul Banwell, who runs The Banwell Clinic, says: “Naturally, Nicole would person mislaid collagen and abdominous successful her face, owed to ageing.

"I ideate she’s had Botox successful her forehead, astir her eyes and connected the ‘bunny lines’, arsenic it’s wherever wrinkles are astir apt to appear.

Mr Reza Nassab, advisor integrative surgeon astatine CLNQ says: “When Nicole was younger, she appeared to person a much rounded and somewhat wider nose.

"More recently, it seems slimmer and much refined, particularly astatine the tip, which could suggest subtle rhinoplasty.

"Her tegument inactive looks creaseless and youthful, which could beryllium owed to a facelift to support tightness successful her jawline and minimise sagging that typically comes with ageing.”