Nicole Kidman and her younger sister, Antonia Kidman, are "almost twins."
The siblings are three years apart, but the Big Little Lies actress has been open about the fact that she and Antonia share a close bond, having been through a lot together.
Nicole and Antonia were raised in Sydney by their mother, Janelle, a nursing instructor, and her father, Antony, a biochemist, clinical psychologist and author, according to Vanity Fair. Their parents discussed philosophy and politics every night at the dinner table, encouraging them to become independent thinkers and give back to their community.
Those lessons have since influenced Nicole's charitable work and donations, as well as Antonia's career as a journalist and family lawyer. Outside of their professions, the two sisters have supported each other during tough times, including the death of their father in 2014.
They've also raised their children together -- Nicole's two kids with husband Keith Urban and Antonia's six kids with late ex-husband Angus Hawley and current husband Craig Marran -- even sharing parental responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nicole has said that the difficult moments have made their relationship stronger.
"If you have a sister, as a woman it's such a blessing because there's this closeness where you can really delve into another woman with safety," Nicole told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2020. "We're almost twins and we've been through a lot. I showed up for her and she showed up for me. That's a lovely thing to have."
From their upbringing to the continuous support they give each other, here's everything to know about Nicole Kidman's sister, Antonia Kidman.
Antonia started her journalism career in the 1990s as a researcher for The Today Show in Sydney. She eventually became a reporter and presenter for the Foxtel Group in Australia, where she produced and presented her own parenting shows -- like The Little Things, The Bigger Things and From Here to Maternity -- according to her LinkedIn.
She has also co-authored two parenting books and written columns for multiple magazines, per her columnist bio on 9Honey.
In 2010, Antonia moved to Singapore with her husband, Craig and continued her media career remotely. After a few years, she realized that juggling motherhood, Craig's work-related travel and a demanding media job was becoming too difficult, so she decided to go back to school and pursue a legal degree from Sydney's Macquarie University, she wrote in a 2019 essay for 9Honey.
When Antonia graduated in 2019, Nicole congratulated her on Instagram. Alongside a photo of Antonia in her cap and gown, the Moulin Rouge! star wrote, "Congratulations to my darling sister who graduated with her law degree two days ago ❤️ Studying, raising 6 kids and starting a new phase in her career, and she's doing it all with grace and humility."
After graduation, Antonia shifted her career to practice family law and is now a family lawyer and parenting coordinator at Mills Oakley, a law firm in Sydney. She is also involved in The Kidman Centre UTS -- a nonprofit focused on youth mental health founded by her father, Antony, according to the Mills Oakley website.
In 1996, Antonia married her first husband, Angus -- who worked in sponsorship, events and communications during their marriage, then became an investment firm business development manager, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Antonia and Angus split in 2007, per The Independent, and in 2010, Antonia married her second husband, Craig, a banker in Australia.
They wed in a private ceremony at South Africa's Kruger National Park, according to Who -- and not even Nicole was in attendance.
The couple then returned to Sydney for a celebratory dinner the following month along with Nicole, their parents, Antonia's children and over 100 other guests, per The Sydney Morning Herald.
Antonia has six children, making Nicole a multi-time aunt.
Nicole told Marie Claire Australia in 2021 that she would have loved to have more kids of her own, "but that's okay because I get to mother other children," referring to her sister's daughters and sons.
Antonia and Angus welcomed four children together: Lucia, James, Hamish and Sybella. The oldest of the siblings, Lucia, followed in her mother's journalistic footsteps as a host on Australia's 7Bravo network and Live From E!'s red carpet coverage, per her Instagram and LinkedIn.
Nicole has a close relationship with Lucia as well, taking her to events, including the 2018 ARIA Awards in Sydney. "🤟🏻Going to the #ARIAs with my niece, we're so excited to see Keith hosting! 🎸❤️," she captioned an Instagram photo of her and Lucia hugging before the occasion.
After Antonia and Angus went their separate ways and she remarried Craig, the pair relocated to Singapore for his job, bringing along her kids. A few years later, the couple welcomed two children together, Nicholas and Alexander.
In 2019, Antonia posted a photo with Craig and all of their children on Instagram. "A beautiful Christmas spent with family and friends at Whale Beach! So great having all the kids together again ❤️," she captioned the post of her large, blended family.
Nicole and Antonia have leaned on each other through challenging moments, from births to divorces and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"She's my best friend. I always say to her that I'm always there for her," Nicole told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007. "We've been through a lot together, she and I."
When Antonia welcomed her fourth child, her daughter Sybella, with then-husband Angus in 2007, Nicole -- who was in Los Angeles at the time -- offered her support over the phone to her sister in Sydney. Nicole talked to Antonia "between contractions," PEOPLE reported, while their mother, a midwife, delivered the baby.
Amid Antonia's family and career responsibilities, she also showed up for Nicole to help her navigate being single in the spotlight.
"When I was alone, when I was single, [fame] was much harder because there wasn't a shield," Nicole told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2020, adding that her sister would attend events with her. "I remember her flying to [the Cannes Film Festival in 2001] because it's frightening walking up that red carpet with all that scrutiny, feeling very insecure and not quite sure where to go or how to survive."
When Antonia separated from Angus in 2007, Nicole returned the favor. That year, Nicole told The Sydney Morning Herald that she stayed with her sister in Australia, helping her care for the children.
The tables turned once again during the COVID-19 pandemic when Nicole told Glamour UK in 2020 that Antonia and three of her children moved in with her family in Australia while she filmed Hulu's Nine Perfect Strangers and her husband Keith was working in Nashville.
Nicole also talked to Marie Claire Australia about the experience in 2020, saying they lived in a "commune-like" setting -- with their mother as well -- helping with each other's children and navigating lockdown.
"I rang Ant and asked her to move in with the girls and she did, and brought along her kids. That's special. It's the nature of what we're all having to do now," she told the outlet. "This extended family where you're all raising each other's kids together."
Nicole and Antonia are so close that they share their own "secret language."
In an interview with the WSJ. Magazine, Nicole described her and Antonia's special way of communicating.
"My sister and I have this language that we can speak so we can be understood in a crowd, and nobody can understand us," she said. "It was really helpful when we were at parties, and we had our boyfriends -- we would be able to use our language, and they'd all be like, 'What?' It's a really good tip for all the sisters out there."
Nicole also described a 1990s dinner with Hugh Grant -- who she has been friends with since their early 20s but had just met at the time -- during which he was "fascinated" by their language.
For his part, Hugh explained the experience to Entertainment Weekly in 2020. "What I remember most was that [Nicole] was very nice, charming, but when she spoke to her sister, she spoke in a secret language," he told the outlet.
The actor continued, "I said, 'Excuse me, are you speaking in a secret language?' And they both said, 'Yes.' It's weird, it sort of goes 'eggy-peggy this, eggy-peggy that,' and they still do it."
While Nicole and Antonia have been through difficult moments together, they also have fun -- from dressing up for Halloween to posting fun videos on social media.
In 2020, the sisters spent the day horseback riding: Nicole, who has her own horse, posted photos on Instagram of her and Antonia with the animals by the ocean. "Look! We led a horse to water 😉🐎 Beautiful day with my beautiful sister @AntoniaKidman xx," she wrote.
The following year, Nicole shared a video of her pampering her sister with an at-home spa treatment. With products from her partnership with Seratopical by SeraLabs, Nicole gave her a foot rub while Antonia laughed and said, "I'll sit here all day!"
The Grace of Monaco alum captioned the clip, "Does anyone else out there do this for their sister? I mean come on... But I'm not doing it all day 💕👯♀️."
The same year, Nicole posted a throwback photo of her and her "darling sister" on Instagram in honor of Antonia's birthday. "Love sharing this life with you," she wrote.
Over the years, Antonia has attended many red carpets, premieres and events supporting Nicole's career, from the Tony Awards to the Oscars and more.
Most recently, in 2024, Antonia, her husband Craig and three of her children -- Lucia, Sybella and Alexander -- went to the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award Gala honoring Nicole. They walked the red carpet with the actress, then watched the ceremony inside the Dolby Theatre in L.A.
In her speech, Nicole thanked her husband and daughters -- who made their red carpet debut that night -- as well as her sister and family, PEOPLE reported.
"There's all my nieces and nephews and my sissy and my beautiful aunt and her husband, who's our family now. This is all because of you, and I love you so much," she said. "There's no place like home, as they say. You're my home. And thank you for flying halfway across the world."
After the ceremony, Antonia posted a photo on Instagram of the whole family on the red carpet together. "Oh what a night....!!" she wrote.
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