Nicole Kidman Talks Working in Mom-Coms ‘Babygirl’ & ‘A Family Affair’

In 2024, Nicole Kidman was at the forefront of a genre that’s now been coined as “mom-coms.” In essence, mom-coms are rom-coms in which older women play moms living out sweet (and potentially sexy) romances with younger men. Just last year, some of those titles included Kidman’s A Family Affair, Anne Hathaway’s The Idea of You and Laura Dern’s Lonely Planet.

And sure, the idea of a romance between an older woman and a younger man isn’t exactly new, think back to The Graduate or Something’s Gotta Give, but it’s having a true renaissance right now.

Speaking of the movement in an interview with Time, Kidman, who also starred in the R-rated critically acclaimed movie Babygirl in the same genre last year, gave a mic-drop take.

“It’s always been there—it just hasn’t been told,” Kidman said of those types of stories. “Maybe it’s threatening.”

When asked about the idea that her 2024 movies represented her “don’t give a f— era,” she explained that wasn’t exactly the case either. “I have the philosophy to never fight anything,” she said. “Surrender.”

Also in the interview, the Oscar winner responded to another major claim about her: that she’s always working. “People go, ‘You’re a superwoman,’” Kidman said. “I hate it.”

In fact, according to the magazine, Kidman hates it because it dehumanizes her. Like everyone, she’s fatigued and tired and is just craving time with her kids and husband, Keith Urban. But, as “a lifelong people pleaser,” she can’t entirely help but accept roles if it’ll mean getting important projects moving and giving hundreds of people their jobs.

“People work when Nicole works,” fellow Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis told the outlet. “I’m working because Nicole is working.”

But that wasn’t always the case. According to Kidman, there was a time when she considered giving it all up too. “When there was nothing exciting or relevant coming my way, when there was massive criticism or bullying, when your self-esteem is shattered, when you’ve been hit with some massive loss or grief and go, ‘I don’t want to get out of bed. It’s too frightening,’” she said.

So there you have it; Kidman is complex and human just like the rest of us. She’s not interested in working just for the sake of working, but she’s happy to be a part of stories that need to be told and people who deserve to be seen. For all that, we applaud her!

Before you go, check out here to see which movies had the steamiest sex scenes with an older woman and younger man: