Nicole Kidman broke down in tears onstage at the Palm Springs International Film Festival awards gala on Friday while dedicating an award to her late mother, who died last fall.
The actress, who was on hand to accept the International Star Award for her performance in Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl,” was overcome with emotion during her acceptance speech.
After Kidman thanked Jamie Lee Curtis, who mentioned Kidman’s mother in a glowing introduction about love, and showed gratitude to Reijn for casting her in “Babygirl,” the Australian actress acknowledged she was “still grieving” the death of her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, who died at 84 in September 2024. Her father, Anthony Kidman, died in 2014.
“I went home over Christmas, and I’ve lost both my parents, so I’m in that place of going, ‘Huh, OK, this is different now,’” Kidman, 57, said onstage at the Palm Springs Convention Center, where the awards gala was held. “But they’ve given me the resilience, they’ve given me the love and they’ve given me the strength to keep moving forward.”
“I’m still grieving my mom,” she continued, her voice breaking as she dedicated the award to her mother “because I didn’t get to do it at the Venice Film Festival.”
Kidman won Venice’s best actress prize for “Babygirl,” but was not present to accept the award due to her mother’s sudden death. “I didn’t get to do that because as I arrived in Venice, she was gone and I got the call,” she recalled in her speech.
So Kidman asked Reijn to accept the award on her behalf, with the director sharing the actress’ statement at the time: “I’m in shock and I have to go to my family, but this award is for her. I am beyond grateful that I get to say her name to all of you through Halina. The collision of life and art is heartbreaking, and my heart is broken.”
At the Friday evening soiree in Palm Springs, Kidman was finally able to share the love for her mom herself.
“But now I’m on stage and I’m back here,” she said. “Thank you for giving me the chance to say this is for my mom. My whole career has been for my mom and my dad, and they’re not here now. But I still want to keep working and giving to the world because I love what I do and I love you all. And I’m so grateful for the privilege for being a part of this film community.”
“I’m sorry I’m crying,” a tearful Kidman apologized as she closed her speech. “I didn’t want to do that but I feel my mama right now. So this is for you, mama.”
Earlier, Kidman credited Reijn for being an “extraordinary” filmmaker and for putting her “heart and soul” in bringing the erotic thriller to life. “I was so lucky at this age to be given this role of that nature, of that complexity and to be asked to do those things that you normally don’t ask a woman in their 50s to do because you’re like, ‘She’s too old.’ But she didn’t. She said, ‘No, this is a gift to you.’”
The Palm Springs International Film Festival’s 36th annual awards gala spotlighting the biggest achievements in film featured more than a dozen of the season’s top awards contenders, many of whom have been present throughout the awards circuit and will continue to make the rounds as awards season ramps up ahead of the Oscars.
This year’s honorees included “Anora” breakout Mikey Madison (Breakthrough Performance); “A Real Pain” actor Kieran Culkin (Breakthrough Performance); the cast of the papal thriller “Conclave” (Ensemble Performance); “Dune: Part Two” director Denis Villenueve (Visionary); “Wicked’s” Ariana Grande (Rising Star); “Sing Sing” star Colman Domingo, accepting the Spotlight Award for the second year in a row; “The Brutalist’s” Adrien Brody (Desert Palm Achievement); “Maria” star Angelina Jolie (Desert Palm Achievement); “Dune: Part Two” and “A Complete Unknown’s” Timothée Chalamet (Chairman’s Award); and the cast and director of “Emilia Pérez” (Vanguard Award).
Here are four other notable moments from the awards gala:
Ariana Grande Has a Laugh at Her Own Expense
With a career that’s already spanned decades, it’s a bit of an eyebrow-raiser that Grande is just now collecting the Rising Star Award, a point she jokingly mentioned — and presenter Jennifer Coolidge did, too. “Hasn’t Ariana already risen?” Coolidge deadpanned. But in terms of cinema, “Wicked” marks Grande’s film debut.
“I didn’t think at the age of 31 I would be hearing the words ‘rising star’ again. So I want to thank my good friends, Botox and Juvederm,” Grande said to a huge room full of laughs. (She almost had an “oops” moment when she went to receive the heavy award, which she nearly dropped because of the weight.) “I thought I would be hearing ‘slightly withering star’ or ‘drooping star’ by now.” The singer-actress acknowledged the “Wicked” recognition “feels like the beginning of a new chapter.”
Timothée Chalamet Ribs Jake Gyllenhaal
It was a busy night for Chalamet, who presented Villeneuve with the Visionary Award and was the beneficiary of the Chairman’s Award. But the 29-year-old actor’s best moment was his unexpected ribbing of Gyllenhaal.
Chalamet revealed that he is the actor Villeneuve has worked with the most and Villeneuve is the director he has worked with the most so far, based on the number of days they’ve been in production together on the two “Dune” films. Chalamet gently reminded the audience that Gyllenhaal, who previously collaborated with the filmmaker on 2013’s “Prisoners” and “Enemy,” fell short in total time on the set. “I got the No. 1 [production] days, so apologies to Jake Gyllenhaal, but that’s just the case,” Chalamet quipped.
Chalamet later observed that Villeneuve’s work got bigger in scope as his movies became more prolific: “They just keep getting bigger and better.” Of course, that meant one last knife twist. “Apologies to Jake Gyllenhaal, who was more in his earlier smaller movies. As it got bigger it tends to be me as the lead,” Chalamet joked.
Your move, Gyllenhaal.
A Family Affair for Angelina Jolie
It was all about family for Jolie, whose godmother, Jacqueline Bisset, presented her with the Desert Palm Achievement Award for her portrayal of controversial opera singer Maria Callas in “Maria.” “Thank you for giving space for my madness, for this and for Maria. For allowing me to have a voice and to find mine again,” Jolie said in her speech to applause.
She thanked director Pablo Larrain for easing her fears of jumping into this role with his “strong vision and direction” for the movie. Jolie also expressed the importance of the freedom to express and create, calling it “the greatest privilege.” She also shed light on artists who have been persecuted globally for doing just that and whose work have been suppressed. “Our community and our world is so much less with their absence,” Jolie said.
The actress ended her speech by shouting out her children, notably teenage daughter Zahara, who accompanied her to the awards gala, for giving her the ability to be “more myself.”
Kieran Culkin Thanks All His Fake Moms and Dads
Culkin was reunited onstage with Sharon Stone, who played his mother in 1998’s “The Mighty” and presented him with the Breakthrough Award for his performance in the Jesse Eisenberg-directed “A Real Pain.” Without a pre-written speech at the ready, that led to Culkin — who joked that he was teary-eyed because he spent all day at the pool with his kids — to name-drop all the famous movie parents he’s had the privilege of being a fake son to throughout his decades-long screen career, from Diane Keaton and Steve Martin in “Father of the Bride” to Susan Sarandon, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum in “Igby Goes Down” to Meryl Streep in “Music of the Heart.”
He specifically remembered Streep setting the bar high in that production that took place when he was 15. Culkin said he recalled a day on the set when the other actors were waiting for Streep to be called to the set last — but when she arrived, she told one of the production members that they should call everyone, including the star, to come to the set at the same time. “I felt like I was supposed to be there in service to her, and what she did in that moment was make me feel like I belonged there,” he said. “It’s something that has stuck with me for a long time.”
The Palm Springs International Film Festival runs through Jan. 13.
