Nicole Kidman, 59, is turning heads with her latest photoshoot for Vogue Australia, where she bares her toned abs in a series of high-fashion looks. The Oscar-winning actress posed in New York for photographer Lachlan Bailey, sporting a black Chanel bikini paired with low-slung sequined jeans, her sculpted midriff on full display.
Designer Looks and Sultry Shots
Styled by editor-in-chief Christine Centenera, Kidman was accessorised with a chunky gold necklace and wet, messy hair, giving a sultry look down the camera in one of several shots. Another image saw her blue eyes pop against her fair complexion and red lips, as she wore a branded Chanel beanie and strapless knitted dress. For the cover, the Australian icon frolicked in the sand, sporting a contrasting silver tinsel-esque skirt and sporty pullover.
On Height and Overcoming Obstacles
In the accompanying interview, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann asked Kidman about obstacles in her youth. She responded: 'My height was an obstacle. I was the tallest in the class, taller than all the boys. I couldn't fulfil being a ballet dancer because I was too tall.' At 5ft 11in, Kidman has always towered over many others in her field, including her ex-husbands. Tom Cruise, 64, whom she was married to from 1990 to 2001, is 5ft 7in, while Keith Urban, 59, whom she wed in 2006 and split from this year, is 5ft 10in.
Kidman said she was told she was 'too tall' for roles, as she surpassed 'the leading man'. 'And then, suddenly, when you are cast first in something, you're not too tall; everyone has to adjust around you,' she added, having been given a new outlook on life when her height stopped being an obstacle. 'That was kind of amazing when that happened. My whole life, it was just, "You're going to be too tall." But it gave me my fire.'
Rule-Breaking and Motherhood
Elsewhere in the interview, Naomi Watts asked Kidman about a rule she's 'broken'. Declaring herself a 'rule breaker', she refused to divulge her secrets, quipping that close pal Naomi, 58, whom she met as a teen while auditioning, picked the question on purpose. 'She knows them! I'm not answering. Many. Rule breaker. It takes one to know one!', Kidman joked.
Zoe Saldaña asked Kidman about shaping 'one of the most fearless careers in our industry' alongside raising a family, while never treating them as 'competing lives'. Kidman adopted two children, Bella and Connor, with Tom Cruise, and has two daughters, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, with Keith Urban. In response, Kidman assured the 48-year-old Marvel actress, who has three sons, that 'there's no such thing as perfection in any area'.
'You do your best, and you show up, and in each thing, you go, "I'm never going to be perfect at this, but I'm going to give it my best, best shot to do the best I can".' Imparting the lessons she teaches her own daughters, she explained that, no matter how high-profile the job, she'd drop anything to be there for them. 'As I always say to my daughters, if push came to shove, that all goes out the window. There is nothing more important than you. That is so important for a child to hear.'
'They know it, because they can call the set, and if I'm in the middle of something, if they need me, they've got me. To know that you are absolutely the priority, that you will never, ever not be put first when it's really needed, for me, that's love.' Vogue Australia's November issue goes on sale on Monday, 2 November.
