Nicole Kidman says marrying Tom Cruise ruined my career

Nicole Kidman recalled falling deeply in love with Tom Cruise despite warnings about how marriage could affect her

Nicole Kidman has opened up about her first marriage to Tom Cruise, recalling how people warned that becoming the wife of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars could affect her own acting career.

In a new interview with British Vogue, Kidman reflected on the relationship, which began when she was still in her early 20s. She said marrying Cruise seemed completely natural at the time because the couple had fallen deeply in love.

Kidman met Cruise while working on the 1990 film Days of Thunder, which marked an important early step in her Hollywood career. The pair married on December 24, 1990, when Kidman was 23 and Cruise was 28.

Speaking about that period of her life, Kidman recalled how quickly everything changed after the marriage. She said she suddenly found herself married to a major Hollywood star, but she viewed the situation without the perspective she would later gain.

People around her had warned that the marriage could have professional consequences. Kidman remembered being told that becoming Cruise’s wife could affect the direction of her career and potentially leave her living in his shadow.

Her response at the time was driven by her feelings for Cruise. She recalled thinking that she was in love and wanted to be married, regardless of what that might mean professionally.

Kidman later became increasingly aware of how the public perceived her identity within the marriage. She said friends eventually reminded her that they had warned her about the possible impact on her career.

The couple adopted two children during their marriage, daughter Isabella in 1992 and son Connor in 1995. They remained together for about a decade before their divorce was finalised in 2001. The exact reason for their split has never been publicly confirmed by either actor.

Despite the personal upheaval surrounding the divorce, Kidman’s career eventually reached one of its biggest milestones. She won the Academy Award for best actress in 2003 for her performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours, following a run of acclaimed performances.

Her career also included prominent roles in films such as Moulin Rouge!, The Others and Cold Mountain, establishing her as one of the most respected actors of her generation.

Kidman later married country musician Keith Urban in June 2006. The couple had two daughters, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, before separating in 2025 after 19 years of marriage.

Reflecting on her more recent personal changes, Kidman has described feeling vulnerable while also choosing to move forward with hope. She has acknowledged that the future she once imagined for herself changed significantly.

Her comments about Cruise offer a rare look at how she viewed their marriage when she was young and still establishing herself internationally. While she once accepted the possibility that marriage could affect her professional ambitions, her subsequent career became highly successful in its own right.

The British Vogue feature is scheduled to appear in the September issue, with the magazine available digitally and on newsstands from August 20.