Nicole Kidman says her biggest regret is not having more children

Nicole Kidman says she regrets not having more children but is grateful for the “miracle” of finding the love of her life, singer Keith Urban.

Nicole Kidman has revealed her greatest regret in life — not having more kids. A lot more.

The 54-year-old mother of four said she “would’ve loved 10” children but is grateful for the “miracle” of finding the love of her life, singer Keith Urban.

“I wish I’d had more children but I wasn’t given that choice,” Kidman tells the latest issue of Marie Claire Australia magazine.

Nicole Kidman features in Marie Claire. Picture: Darren McDonald

“But that’s OK. I get to mother other children. I have six nieces and nephews and I’m godmother to 12. I love mothering, I love kids and what they say.

“They’re quirky, funny, unfiltered. And then you get to see them grow and send them on their way.”

Kidman has, in the past, spoken of her fertility struggles and miscarriages during her marriage to actor Tom Cruise.

She and Cruise adopted daughter Isabella, now 28, and son Connor, 26.
She and Urban are parents to daughters, Faith, 10, and Sunday, 13.

The couple recently celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary with a meal of sushi and a walk around the Art Gallery of NSW.

“Two Aussies born in the same year but living in different worlds and cities. How did that happen?” she asked. “It was meant to be.”

The couple has been busy since returning to Australia — Urban with The Voice and Kidman
with her new TV project, Nine Perfect Strangers, which was shot in Byron Bay and launches on Amazon Prime Video on Friday.

Nicole Kidman on the September cover of the 25th birthday issue Marie Claire.

Nicole Kidman features in Marie Claire. Picture: Darren McDonald

“When you get to this point in your career, it becomes your greatest joy. Music is everything to him: he hears the world, I feel the world,” explained Kidman in her 10th cover for the magazine, which next month celebrates its 25th anniversary issue.
“He said if he didn’t like my speaking voice, he wouldn’t have been able to fall in love with me. Lucky he liked my voice and my Aussie accent.”

Nine Perfect Strangers sees Kidman play the character of mysterious healer Masha, alongside the likes of Hollywood stars Melissa McCarthy, Luke Evans, Michael Shannon, Bobby Cannavale and Regina Hall.

The series is based off Liane Moriarty’s book of the same name.

“Each character has their own fully realised storyline which takes these incredible twists and

turns; it’s so exciting to watch them.”

TEEN DAUGHTER TOLD MCCARTHY TO COME TO OZ

It was Melissa McCarthy’s teenage daughter that convinced the Hollywood star to call Australia home for much of the past year.

“At first initially I thought that is a crazy idea, I haven’t been out of my driveway, I certainly can’t go around the world,” McCarthy told Confidential of signing up to new Amazon Prime Video series, Nine Perfect Strangers.

“It was my 13-year-old that I said, ‘somebody asked if we wanted to go to Australia to do a show, can you imagine?’ And she said, ‘isn’t it one of the safest places on the planet, why wouldn’t we go and we should pack our bags and leave tonight’. I was like, ‘I’ve got to call somebody back’.”

Melissa McCarthy’s teenage daughter Vivienne persuaded her to make the trip to Australia with them. Picture: Vince Valitutti/Hulu

The decision was made thanks to now 14-year-old Vivienne, who, along with sister, Georgette, 10, travelled with their mum for the shoot in Byron Bay.

McCarthy’s husband, Ben Falcone, also came along and makes a cameo in Nine Perfect Strangers, which is based on Liane Moriarty’s book of the same name. McCarthy and Nicole Kidman are also producers on the project.

“I was just getting to know Nicole, I think we were at Telluride (Film Festival) and she said, ‘I have this book and I would love you to read it to play this part’. I knew of the book and I read it immediately. You would really have to be a bit of a dingbat to be like, ‘no thanks, Kidman’.”

Nine Perfect Strangers also stars Michael Shannon, Samara Weaving, Bobby Cannavale, Luke Evans, Melvin Gregg, Asher Keddie and Regina Hall.

It is set at fictional Tranquillum House, a health and wellness retreat that promises transformation to its guests under the guidance of Kidman’s enigmatic character, Masha.

“To build nine characters … that have their own fronts, their own cover stories, what they are willing to show, what they won’t even admit to themselves, that is hard to craft one that you can take on that ride, especially for eight hours, to do it with this many people and to do it with heart and to do it with love and to take the onus off of, it is okay to not be doing very well, it is okay to not be in a good mental space and to own it and to ask for help, I think that is putting awfully good stuff into the world now more than ever and I really love the thought that this kindness came from strangers. It is just people as humans, it is so easy to hear the loudness of hate, it is on a bigger microphone but what is stronger and I think is more common is people want to love and be compassionate, it is just not as noisy.”

Melissa McCarthy and her actor husband Ben Falcone on a walk together in Byron Bay. Picture: Nathan Edwards

McCarthy and Falcone extended their stay in Australia after production wrapped on Nine Perfect Strangers to shoot US TV series, God’s Favourite Idiot, here.

AUSTRALIAN TRIP THE PERFECT RESULT

With the global pandemic in full swing at the time and Hollywood all but shut down, Regina Hall never anticipated filming going ahead when she said yes to flying to Australia to shoot Nine Perfect Strangers.

The star of films including Scary Movie, Girls Trip and Little is happy she was wrong given that the series went ahead and has massive global buzz ahead of its international release on Amazon Prime Video today.

Nine Perfect Strangers character Carmel, played by Regina Hall. Picture: Vince Valitutti/Hulu

“The Byron of it all, Australia, I said yes but I have to say, that was with the thought that it was probably not going to happen because it was such a feat to pull off,” Hall told Confidential.
“I said sure and then I was like, ‘I doubt that everything will work for this entire production to be done in Australia’. And then it was like, ‘okay here is the date, here is the departure.

“They did it and that was pretty incredible. It was still a shock, even though I knew it, to actually pull it off.”

Nine Perfect Strangers was originally planned to be filmed in the United States last year before Nicole Kidman, who stars in and also wears an executive producer hat on the project, pushed for Byron Bay.

“To make all of those things happen, to take the production over during that time coming from what was happening in the United States with Covid, so when it all finally came together, it was surreal and then to actually be in quarantine was surreal and to get to Byron was surreal and then to meet so many incredible people who you have admired their work, that was surreal. It all came together and it was pretty fantastic.”

Hall plays Carmel in the series, a woman who has been left by her husband for a younger female.

“That really hurts, especially when you feel like you’ve given up so much of yourself for the sake of someone you love and your children and you feel utterly abandoned, dismissed to a certain degree,” she explained.
“Carmel really doesn’t feel seen and it is very hard to be in a world where you feel like you are surrounded by so many incredible people and you just can’t be seen and you are not heard.”