Nicole Kidman is one Hollywood actress and celebrity mom who still manages to stun fans with her undeniable talent and beauty on the big screen. What’s more, she’s also a household name that people recognize, thanks to her box office hits from throughout her entire career: Moulin Rouge!, The Others, Cold Mountain, and so much more.

At home, Nicole isn’t the same person fans see in her interviews or on the Hollywood red carpet. Instead, she’s just a regular mom to her two small daughters. She’s also someone who likes to live a low-key life, and do things like hang out at the park, playdate or check out the latest Gymboree class near her neighborhood. Sure, she might have plenty of Oscar and Golden Globe nominations attached to her name, but Nicole is someone who likes to stay grounded, regardless of how successful she gets or what people might say in the press.

With that being said, there are so many things that people simply don’t know about Nicole Kidman and the way she parents at home. Read on to see a list of 20 things that Nicole likes to do when it comes to her family life.

20 She Doesn’t Do Family Photos On Social Media

Nicole Kidman isn’t what you would call a typical celebrity mom. Sure, she’s a Hollywood A-lister and people from all over the world know her name. But she’s not someone who likes to post behind-the-scenes photos of her life and her family on social media like so many other actresses in the industry do. As a matter of fact, Nicole has never posted a picture of her family online, ever. She is more interested in separating her personal life from her career and she wants to keep it that way. While she doesn’t mind talking about her kids in her media interviews, she just prefers not to show their faces if she doesn’t have to.

19 She’s Protective Of Her Family’s Privacy

With the above being said, Nicole is fiercely protective of her family’s privacy. Sure, she is a huge Hollywood star but just because she’s always in the limelight, that doesn’t mean that her children have to be in it, too. As a matter of fact, Nicole and her husband Keith Urban do everything in their power to give their children a very normal, stable upbringing even though they are two of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. It’s not always easy, but with the right kind of support and a little extra help here and there, they make it happen.

18 She’s Not A Celebrity Mom

Nicole Kidman is not a celebrity mom. Fans won’t ever see her posing on the red carpet with her daughters by her side. In fact, she doesn’t take her family to any of her Hollywood premieres even though plenty of actors and actresses of her caliber do all the time. Nicole also doesn’t use her title as a “mom” to promote different products or cash in on promotional gigs and campaigns. Instead, she wants her children to focus on their job (which is school) while she focuses on her job, which is making movies. According to Nicole, this is what works best for her.

17 She Prefers The Aussie Way Of Doing Things

Nicole Kidman might be raising her family in the United States because of her Hollywood and work obligations, but she’s mentioned quite a few times that she definitely prefers the Aussie way of doing things. That’s why she and her husband Keith Urban make a point to travel Down Under for almost every major holiday and school break with their two kids. Even though she was born in Hawaii and is an American citizen, she is fiercely patriotic as an Aussie. As they say, home is where the heart is, and for Nicole and her family, it’s in their Australia.

16 She Raised Her Daughters Outside Of Hollywood

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have taken a page out of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s parenting book and have decided to raise their children far, far away from Hollywood. Even though Nicole often travels to Los Angeles for her projects, her family has called Nashville home for many years. And if they are not in Nashville, then they are visiting all of their grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins Down Under in Australia. Nicole is a huge star in her native Oz but the actress says it’s also the one place in this world that she feels the most comfortable, too, and that’s why they spend a lot of their family vacation time in Australia.

15 She’s Close To Her Family

 

It’s part of Nicole Kidman’s job to travel all over the world but she is someone who knows the joys of coming home. Back in 2013, she told Harper Bazaar magazine that she likes to have her two daughters travel with her whenever they can. As a matter of fact, when she filmed the movie Grace in Monaco, she had her girls with her for several weeks. They even got to learn a little French while they were in Europe. But if there’s one place that she will always go back to: it’s home to Australia to be with her parents and her sister, Antonia. They’ve always been close.

14 Her Faith Is A Huge Part Of Her Life

Back when Nicole was married to Tom Cruise, there were reports that indicated she was dabbling in Scientology. But that was one bridge that the actress simply refused to cross over. She’s always been a faithful member of the Catholic church and she and her family still practice it today.

As a matter of fact, they go to church as a family every Sunday, no matter where they are or what they are doing. "Our family depends upon an enormous amount of questions and love and support, and we’re trying to guide a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old girl right now into the world," she continued.

13 She’s Open About Being An Adoptive Mom

Many people in the entertainment industry have said that Nicole Kidman is one of the most “human” and “maternal” actresses they have ever met in Hollywood. Although she is fiercely private about her family life, she’s also very open about her feelings at the same time.

Nicole once told a journalist from The Guardian that her 2007 movie Lion, in which she played an adoptive mother, is a love letter to the two children she adopted during her marriage to Tom Cruise: Isabella and Connor. When she thinks of them, Nicole can’t help but cry a little, regardless of who is in the room with her.

12 She Misses Her Kids Connor And Isabella

This is something that Nicole Kidman doesn’t talk about very often, but it’s also very obvious: she misses the relationship she once had with her children with Tom Cruise. While no one knows what is really going on behind closed doors between Nicole and her kids, Connor and Isabella, but one thing is for certain: she will never stop loving them.

Some reports have indicated that Nicole and Isabella are on speaking terms, although that has never been confirmed. One of the reasons why there’s so much distance between Nicole and her two adult kids is because they are members of the Church of Scientology, a church that Nicole has always kept very quiet about.

11 Her ‘Tree House’ Parenting Strategy

When it comes to her own two children with Keith Urban, Nicole admits that she has a “tree house strategy” that works. "My kids right now, they’re not on social media. There’s no need. My kids literally have a tree house and play in the backyard," she says. “I mean, building the tree house was a really important part of keeping them outside playing. I’m pushing them for that, to be outside playing, riding your bike, playing, doing cartwheels in the yard. They still do that stuff. That’s a really important part of their development. And we’re lucky we have a yard that you can play in, we’re not living in an apartment."

10 She Doesn’t Want Her Kids Or Her Feelings Public

When Nicole Kidman loves, she loves. There are no boundaries when it comes to how much and how fiercely she shows her family her love. But according to the actress, it’s a side of her that the public and her fans will never see. Sure, she’s a Hollywood A-lister who is in the spotlight, but her emotions don’t have to be in it, too. She once said, “I'm a woman, a mother, a daughter, a sister. I'm a real person operating in the world. For me to discuss the most private thing feels wrong. It feels like I'm betraying myself and my children.”

9 Parenting And Fast Trips Don’t Mix

It’s without a doubt that Nicole has a very hectic lifestyle, especially with all of her Hollywood projects and filming obligations. But now that she’s a full-time mom to two small daughters, she can’t travel the world on fast trips like she used to. "Everything is so much harder as you get older. It’s bleak. I had to go to Germany on the weekend and I used to be able to do that easily and I was just [tired] after flying there, I was only there for 48 hours. I used to be able to do that standing on my head but not anymore!”

8 She Admits To Parenting Challenges

Nicole Kidman has never pretended to be a perfect mom. As a matter of fact, she’s often very open about the challenges that she often faces as a mother. She once told People Magazine that she’s also a very protective mother. "I do have elements of the helicopter parent that I grapple with," she said. "When my daughters are playing on the monkey bars I try not to hover and say, 'be careful'. I want them to find their own way and not feel over-parented, but I still have that balance of knowing I am there when they need me."

7 She Taught Keith Urban Everything He Knows About Raising Girls

Thankfully, Nicole has a partner that she can rely on during the good times, the bad and the downright ugly: Keith Urban. In fact, the country singer once said that Nicole helped teach him everything there is to know about parenting and it’s something that he’s very thankful for. According to Keith, Nicole is an excellent mother. “[She's] an incredible mom," Keith told Entertainment Tonight. "Loving, maternal, and [she's] teaching me a lot about how to raise children, especially girls. I have no reference for girls. I grew up in a house of boys, so it's quite the learning curve."

6 She’s ‘Over-Caring’

Is there even such a thing as being too over-caring? According to Nicole Kidman, absolutely, as she even admits that is one of her biggest maternal qualities. But in a good way, of course. That’s because Nicole takes a realistic approach when it comes to parenting to her two small daughters. “I mean if you really define it and ask 'am I over-caring?' then yes, I am over-caring at times but that’s also just being a little bit scared – scared of the world and what they’re going to encounter. It’s a different world now from when we were growing up.”

5 Even Zoe Kravitz Has Praised Nicole’s Skills

Nicole Kidman has plenty of friends and confidants in Hollywood. She’s a girl’s girl, and someone who knows the value of relationships that are strong and secure in sisterhood. Her co-star Zoe Kravitz even had words of praise for Nicole in her role as a mother after observing her two daughters on the set of Big Little Lies. She said of her time on set with the girls: "Yeah, they're around a lot and I sometimes can't tell when they're actually in a scene or just hanging out. But they're so sweet and really really smart. You can tell they were raised by Nicole Kidman."

4 She’s Working Less And Focusing On Family More

These days Nicole Kidman is working less and focusing more on her family. For her, she’s done everything she needed to do and accomplish in the entertainment industry. In other words, she feels complete when it comes to that portion of her life. She said: "The thing you really have to learn when you have children and a career - and particularly when you're an older mother - is the preciousness of time; and therefore trying to balance everything and be willing to say no to things. I want to be a good wife and a good mother, so that requires giving up things I want sometimes."

3 She Relies On Keith

Nicole Kidman has said this plenty of times in the past: she relies on Keith as a husband, a partner, and a parent. Without him, their family just wouldn’t be the same and that’s why she often thanks him for being such a strong figure in her life. It’s without a doubt that there is plenty of love in both their marriage and their family. "I've said it before but it’s true. I would not be able to do anything without Keith. Our union is so nourishing and strong and healing. I'm amazed that amidst all of this we were able to find each other in this would."

2 She’s An Honest Parent

Nicole Kidman opened up about the tragic events that happened during a country music concert in Las Vegas with her two children last year. She admits to being an honest parent. "This tragedy, it so effected the country music in such a massive way, they knew, they saw us dealing and they’re so connected to us they were like, ‘What’s wrong?'" she explained to Us Weekly.“So you know, we’re all in it together trying to raise our children in this time, so how do we navigate it? How do we protect yet still give them strength and still keep them moving forward? And focusing on what’s a beautiful thing about this world?”

1 She’s Finally At Peace

While no one knows what the future holds for Nicole Kidman, one thing is for certain: she’s finally at peace in her life. Sure, there have been plenty of ups and downs along the way, but these days she’s got everything that’s important to her at home: her husband and her two children. Nicole once put it this way (via People Magazine), “I think that the most difficult thing is allowing yourself to be loved, so receiving the love and feeling like you deserve it is a pretty big struggle. I suppose that's what I've learnt recently, to allow myself to be loved.”