Nicole Kidman used to lie about this one thing to get auditions

The "Moulin Rouge" and "The Hours" star was subject to gender-based bias

By Nardos Haile

Staff Writer

Published January 16, 2024 2:39PM (EST)

Nicole Kidman looks on during Nicole Kidman and Per Saari in conversation during the 'Spotlight on Blossom Films' feature session at SXSW Sydney on October 19, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney)
Nicole Kidman looks on during Nicole Kidman and Per Saari in conversation during the 'Spotlight on Blossom Films' feature session at SXSW Sydney on October 19, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney)

Sometimes lying on your resume can get you far — look at Nicole Kidman.

The Oscar-winning actor revealed that she lied about her height early in her career to land auditions. Kidman is 5 feet 11 inches but she would pretend to be 5-foot-10 and a half.

“I was told, ‘You won’t have a career. You’re too tall,’” the two-time Emmy and six-time Golden Globe winner said to the Radio Times.

“People would say, 'How’s the air up there?' Now, I get, 'You’re so much taller than I thought,' or men grappling with how high my heels should be," she said. "Whenever I go on the red carpet, I get sent shoes that are always so high. I’m like, 'Do they have a kitten heel? I’m going to be the tallest person – a giraffe.'"

As a child, Kidman auditioned for the musical "Annie" but in the queue for auditions, children were measured before they were let into the room. At the time, she said she was 5 feet 4 inches, just two inches taller than the 5-foot-2 cut-off. Even though she was above the required height, the young actor still auditioned. “I didn’t get the part,” she said. “I didn’t even get a call back – but at least I got to sing four lines of a chorus.”

Now, the actor said she tells her two teenage daughters, "What matters is how you allow other people to either say 'yes' or 'no' to you, and whether you accept that. Inner resilience as a human being, that’s the superpower really."


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