Nicole Kidman has one of the most storied careers in Hollywood in recent decades. Having won an Oscar for The Hours (2002), she has landed four more Academy Award nominations and worked with renowned filmmakers, including Stanley Kubrick, Sofia Coppola, Baz Luhrmann, and Aaron Sorkin. As she continues to produce and star in exciting upcoming projects, Kidman has announced that she is pursuing a new career path: becoming a death doula.
Kidman revealed this during a talk at the University of San Francisco’s Silk Speaker Series. The actor said that she got the idea, which she admitted “may sound a little weird,” following the passing of her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, in 2024. “My mother was obviously a major guide through my life and probably my compass in terms of everything I did,” the actor told Extra TV a few weeks after her death.
“As my mother was passing, she was lonely, and there was only so much the family could provide,” Kidman said at the Silk Speaker Series over the weekend. “Between my sister and I, we have so many children and our careers and our work, and wanting to take care of her because my father wasn’t in the world anymore, and that’s when I went, ‘I wish there was these people in the world that were there to sit impartially and just provide solace and care.’”
The International End-Of-Life Doula Association (INELDA), a leading training organization, describes the work of end-of-life professionals as a non-medical companion who provides personalized and compassionate support to individuals, families, and their circles of care as they encounter and navigate death, loss, and mortality. According to INELDA, “an end-of-life doula advocates self-determination and imparts psychosocial, emotional, spiritual, and practical care to empower dignity throughout the dying process.”
Kidman’s passion for this endeavor can be seen in the fact that she has made room for it in a packed year for her acting work. She recently starred in the Prime Video crime series Scarpetta and will appear in the upcoming Apple TV dramedy Margo’s Got Money Troubles. On the big screen, she will reprise her role in the long-awaited Practical Magic 2 (the sequel to the iconic 1998 film), which is due out in September 2026.
Sources: Nicole Kidman Reveals Surprising New Career Path: Becoming a ‘Death Doula’; What is an End-of-Life Doula?
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