Who give you inspiration or support? We talked to Nicole Kidman, who stars in the upcoming film Moulin Rouge, about the women she most admires, and those who’ve always been there for her.

Which women do you admire the most?
NK: My mother. she’s visiting me now, actually (after the announcement that Nicole and Tom Cruise are getting a divorce) she said, "I’m on the plane, your sister’s on the plane." My sister has two kids, like I do, and she brought both babies over, so it’s kids and us in the house. We’re cooking and just making the house warm. It’s lovely to have somebody who you know is always there for you , that’s so rare. they’re just great women, and they give me such a belief in the strength of women together. In particular, I adore my mom for her intelligence, her wit, and what she gave up to help me and my sister. She could have been a doctor, but she chose not to be. She still worked through our whole childhood as a nurse, but she was always there for us, and she gave us a great education and a great belief in our own power. When i was 17 my mother survived breast cancer. She endured chemotherapy and radiation and struggled with the notion of death. It was so difficult to see my mum, the heart and strength of the family go through such pain and suffering. We love her so much and after we got through it it was like, "wow, she did it with such dignity." She’s pragmatic and strong and still sweet. When you see somebody suffer from cancer the way she did it gives you compassion for any sort of suffering. It shows you that it’s how you deal with the hard times that actually defines you . So women afflicted with disease in general touch my life. I do a lot of fund raising for women with ovarian cancer. It takes such courage to get through something like that. Unfortunately i’ve known two women who have died of ovarian cancer. It’s the worst thing.


Which women have inspired you?
NK: The feminists. I was raised by a feminist and I grew up reading germaine greer. She provoked a reaction and she was important. So were Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan. If you believe in equality you recognize that the feminists fought a hard battle. It’s great to be able to say "I want to be a mother but i would like to work as well." Still there's no such thing as having it all. There are times you say "I’m going to work" and there are times you say "no i want to stay home and take care of my children" which is what i’m choosing to do now. I want to do that. Having the choice is lovely. I used to say "wow my hat is off to a woman who has to do it by herself" and now i’m a single mother. It’s amazing the way life twists an turns. Obviously my children have a father who’s going to be completely involved but in terms of doing it alone that’s scary. It’s a whole new path i’m about to walk. It’s daunting.


Which authors do you admire?
NK: I adore emily Dickinson. I studied her poetry and still read her whenever I’m doing a film. I’m sort of perversely fascinated by the bronte sisters because they’re great writers. My mom and I were staying in the Lake District in England once and we walked up in the moors where they lived. Jane Campion and I did it as well. It was beautiful. There’s something about going to a place that you know inspired great writers. in terms of modern day writers, I love Toni Morrison. She’s unique.


Do you write?
NK: Yes. I started acting at 14 and yet i was still dabbling with whether I wanted to be a writer. I still dabble in everything. I believe the experiences of your life are more important than any sort of film that you make. I’d love to get my degree in philosophy and to live in Italy at some stage. And I'm adapting a book into a screenplay. I tore the cartilage in my knee while filming Moulin Rouge and I still haven’t quite recovered from it so i’m taking six months off. And with everything that’s happening in my life i’m just not interested in working at the moment. I’m a mother and it’s very important that i’m there for my children. So i’m exploring other things. I suppose you’d say i’m staying alive. It’s difficult for me right now to talk about all that stuff though because it’s still very painful. Thankfully i’ve got great girlfriends. It’s not the people you meet in this world it’s the friendships you make along the way. Whenever you go through a hard time you think "wow i’m so lucky to have them."


Whom do you admire in your personal life?
NK: I admire my grandmother who’s 85 and going strong. She still drinks scotch still smokes cigarettes and doesn’t even wear glasses. I always tell her "grandmother you’re gonna get a letter from the queen" because if you’re australian or british you get a letter from the queen when you turn 100. she’s also funny. I remember she came to the Eyes Wide Shut premiere and she said "what was that movie? i hated it!" [laughs] I was so embarrassed. I also admire my daughter Bella who’s 8. I admire her purity. And she’s so funny. Today she said "i want to come with you so they’ll put me in the magazine" i’m thinking, oh no. I’m doing everything I can to keep her out of things. It’s exciting raising a daughter thinking about her future and giving her wings though. You really do live through your children. You rediscover everything and feel like you are 10 years old again. Through the hard times they can make you laugh - and cry. And no matter what else is going on they need you. They still need you to braid their hair and to ask what they should wear. Life goes on. They keep you emotionally true. And they’re very protective. It’s funny dealing with this question of who i admire. I wonder who my daughter is going to admire. I don’t know if she admires me at the moment. I think as they say in australia she sees me as a "dag" which is a term for someone who’s completely uncool.


Which actresses do you admire?
NK: Judy davis who refuses to compromise her art. She’ll do a play in a tiny theatre in Sydney or really quirky interesting films. I first saw her in 'My Brilliant Career' about a young girl who wanted to have a career. People kept trying to break her spirit but she wouldn’t let them. She didn’t want to be defined by who she was married to or what She did she enjoyed her independence. It was great to see her as a 17 year old girl.


Did anyone in particular inspire you to act?
NK: Katherine Hepburn in the philidelphia story. She shows you how to do it ;She’s elegant and funny and smart- and still is. I’ve never met her though. Actually tom and I once sent her a photograph that we’d bought of her and we asked her to sign it. We got a message back saying no [laughs] which i thought was cool: [imitating hepburn’s trademark accent] "I am not signing the back of some photograph".


Whom do you admire in politics?
NK: Eleanor Roosevelt. She was a fantastic wife and a very dignified woman with a social conscience. She used her position to help the poor and to pave the way for people like Hilary Clinton who I also admire. Obviously there’s much controversy surrounding her and there always will be. That’s because there’s so much media coverage now that, ultimately-whether you’re the president or anybody-every single aspect of you life is scrutinized. Why would anyone want to be president? I think it’d be horrendous. And that’s too bad because it deters people who would be great president. They'reE used to be a certain amount of protection and respect. Not anymore. Obviously we do have a right to know but sometimes I just go "whew too much information". Another extraordinary brave woman is Aung San Suu Kyi the Burmese leader. She’s waging a peaceful protest against her government and basically giving up her whole life for what she believes in. She’s now under house arrest. Not enough people know about her.


Whom do you admire in beauty or fashion?
NK: From doing Moulin Rouge I now have huge regard for the musical stars of that time who sang, danced, and did it all. I also like Marilyn Monroe, Cyd Charisse, and Rita Hayworth- she had it. That red headed spitfire was hot. And the way they influenced fashion is really exciting. When you see a woman with platinum blonde hair luminous pale skin a satin dress and great cleavage you go "oh marilyn". You just look at these icons and say "you have influenced not just your won generation but every generation that has come afterward." They had confidence sexiness and talent. Talent is an aphrodisiac; whether a man or a woman has it, it’s beautiful. In terms of fashion, I admire Coco Chanel. She was so chic and elegant. She had the ability to take something and define it in a completely different way; that was her brilliance.


Which musicians do you admire?


NK: PJ Harvey and Beth Orton. The thing that shines through for me are women who are provocative, not for the sake of being provocative but because they actually have something to say. And then there’s Madonna who i grew up with and who basically said to every young girl "go on go for it. you can do what you want to do, you can dress how you want to dress. you want to wear a bra out in public? you wear a bra out in public!" I loved Madonna. At the time I was a teenager going to clubs and listening to her music. She was our heroine. It’s so great that Britney Spears is now paying homage to her.


What do you think people admire about you?
NK: I don’t know. At the moment I don’t feel that admirable. It’s a really tough world. But I don’t like to cloister myself and make it so that i don’t see people. I love people, I love meeting people and I will continue to share parts of who I am. Tto live a really full life you must stay open. And in the end I hope that i’ve done some unusual films and tried to keep my very public life private quiet and dignified. That’s what i attempt to do.
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