Kidman has revealed that she is currently training to become a death doula and describes the work as "beautiful" and “very important” to her.
The actress appeared at the Kimmel Center’s Marian Anderson Hall as part of a live speaker series produced by The History Channel. She said: “I did this talk recently where I said I’m expanding into learning to be a death doula, which seemed to have people confused or intrigued."
She explained that she wanted to help families navigate death and their final moments together, describing the work as "fascinating."
A death doula provides support for people who are reaching towards death and helps them and their family to come to terms with it.
“It’s very beautiful, and you have to be a certain personality to be able to do it, but I found out that I’m actually that personality. It’s very important to me. There is always suffering, but if there are people there who can help with that, help those final stages be less painful — if you feel the connection in your heart, then that’s lovely. So that’s what I’m exploring," Kidman said.
The 'Babygirl' actress explained her thought on the practice whilst reflecting on the death of her mother. She stated that her mothers death coincided with her being honoured at the Venice Film Festival in September 2024. "This seems to be such a common theme through my life, I was about to go on stage, and I found out my mother had died. I went right back to the room in Venice, got into bed and was completely devastated," she said.
“I remember getting into a boat in the canal, and literally at night trying to find my way to the airport, and then turning around and going, I can’t even do this. And then went back into the bed, and I was alone. My husband wasn’t there. My children weren’t there. I’d gone to win an award. What should have been a beautiful thing, ended up with that. But there is the contrast of life, and that’s what I always say to people. I say that’s when I know I’m resilient. That’s when I know I can survive pretty much anything," she continued.
