Nicole Kidman says she felt ‘beyond lonely’ after Oscar win

Nicole Kidman has reflected on feeling lonely after winning her first Academy Award in 2003, saying the experience prompted her to reconsider her personal life.

The actress won the Oscar for best actress for playing Virginia Woolf in The Hours. Speaking on the Sept. 10 episode of the Therapuss podcast while promoting Practical Magic 2, Kidman recalled returning home after the ceremony and feeling isolated.

"I was beyond lonely," Kidman said. "I had the pinnacle of my success, and I went home and was so lonely."

Kidman had divorced her first husband, Tom Cruise, in 2001, and said the contrast between her professional achievement and personal circumstances became particularly clear that night.

"So, yeah, crazy, though, that sort of the confluence of events where you go, 'I wish…' I had my mom with me and my dad, but I was like, 'Where's my partner, someone that I can share this with?' " Kidman recalled.

"It was one of the most profound moments where I went, 'I've got to get a life' and at the same time, I'm holding this gold statue where you go, 'This is, this is it. This is the highest sort of prize you can get in our industry.' And so grateful and yet so lonely."

When asked to describe how she felt at the time, Kidman said, "Weird, is what I felt."

She also recalled wishing she could share the moment with a partner, saying, "I'd love to be able to just, you know, be wrapped in somebody's arms right now," and "I'd love to be around now, something that feels really, 'Oh, okay. This is my real life.' "

Kidman later married country singer Keith Urban in 2006. The couple split in 2025 and finalised their divorce in January 2026 after 19 years of marriage.

Kidman previously discussed the period in Dave Karger's 2024 book 50 Oscar Nights.

"I was struggling with things in my personal life, yet my professional life was going so well," she said. "That's what happens, right?"