Quote Of The Day By Nicole Kidman: 'Don't Think Ahead To Something...'

Nicole Mary Kidman was born on June 20, 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii and spent the earliest years of her life in Washington D.C. where her father, Anthony Kidman, did breast cancer research. Anthony and his wife Janelle Kidman eventually raised their two daughters, including Nicole's younger sister Antonia Kidman, in their native Sydney, Australia. Young Nicole got her first role, a sheep, in a school Christmas pageant.

A high school dropout, Nicole focused on the arts before her breakout role in the beloved 1983 Australian Christmas movie, "Bush Christmas." A robust career in the Australian film industry followed, until she transitioned to Hollywood with "Days of Thunder" where she met her first husband, Tom Cruise. They would star in two films together during their marriage: Ron Howard's  "Far and Away" and "Eyes Wide Shut" directed by Stanley Kubrick. The couple raised their two adopted children together — Connor and Isabella Cruise — before their 2001 divorce.

Nicole built a critically acclaimed filmography, starring as Satine in "Moulin Rouge!" in 2001, for which she earned her first Best Actress Oscar nomination in 2002. A year later she won in the same category for her work in "The Hours." She's been nominated three other times, for her roles in "Rabbit Hole," "Lion," and "Being the Ricardos." Nicole eventually transitioned into television and has received four Emmy nominations, winning for her work on "Big Little Lies" and nominated as a producer for the 2026 comedy "Margo's Got Money Troubles." She and her second husband, Keith Urban, have two daughters, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, and finalized their divorce in 2026 after 19 years of marriage. She's clearly lived many lives within her own, so it's no surprise Kidman's hard-earned wisdom is featured as our quote of the day.

In November 2024, less than one year before Nicole Kidman's surprising split from her country music superstar husband Keith Urban, and just two months after her mom Janelle Kidman's death, the "Scarpetta" star spoke to Vanity Fair about past successes and failures in her career, the challenges of getting projects made in the industry, and values her mother instilled in her.

Speaking about how she often defies people's expectations of her, Nicole shared a piece of advice an unnamed person once gave her. "Don't think ahead to something bad happening. Stay in the moment when it's good, because you need to nourish during that time. You will have the fortitude to ride out when it's not." It's a great reminder to live in the moment and try not to be anxious about the future.

Nicole Kidman's words are more than just a reminder that life moves fast and we should try not to worry about future events we can't control. She was telling people she believes the good times in life help us through the bad times. Much like nutrients in food, she explained our good memories give us the energy we need to move through life. Especially when we are faced with tragedy or hard times, remembering our good experiences and successes in life is almost like a healing balm as we work to get to the other side. If we think too far ahead about what might happen, we'll miss the joy right in front of us that could help us heal later. 

As Vanity Fair reported in 2024, the timing of Nicole's mother Janelle Kidman's sudden death was an example of that. The "Nine Perfect Strangers" star learned of her mom's death while at the Venice Film Festival, and had to fly home before she could accept the Venice Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actress in "Babygirl." She was celebrating moments before she got some of the hardest news of her life. But per her quote, the film festival hypothetically nourished her so she could channel that joy to help her through future pain. The festival might have collided too closely with Janelle's death to help her then, but perhaps she ultimately used that joy to help her through her reportedly messy split with Keith Urban.

• "Being a parent can bring you to your knees. I feel that as a mother, I have this sort of bottomless well of emotion inside of me."
• "...I think you have to be willing to give every part of yourself. And that requires a lot of sacrifice at times... But it pays off 'cause it's the most fulfilling, beautiful job." (On acting)
• "Everyone always says, 'Don't take things personally.' I take everything personally. This is deeply personal. I'm giving you my heart. I'm putting myself out there. I'm going, 'This is me.' That's personal." 
• "The more love and the more intimacy and closeness you have with a person, the more it's going to hurt losing them. But I'll take the pain." (On grief)
• "We're free, and the more we fight for that freedom, and the ability to be what we wanna be. I think, and the sisterhood of that, y'know. We protect each other, and that's important these days." (On being a woman in Hollywood, 2016).