Nicole Kidman Opens Up About Former Insecurities: “I Wanted To Be 5’2″ And Curvaceous”
Nicole Kidman is an Oscar-winning actress who has talked about her path to self-acceptance, which she has recently discussed in the new Hulu documentary series In Vogue: The 90s. The series brings into view the fashion world of the 1990s through Vogue and its editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, as Nicole talks through those times with regard to body image and fashion.
In episode three, she speaks openly about how she felt about her body when she was young. All that changed, of course, when her lanky frame became a desired canvas for designers.
Nicole says that there came a defining point in her career when designer John Galliano picked her to wear one of his creations to the 1997 Oscars. This was right after Galliano designed Princess Diana’s dress for the Met Gala in 1996, meaning Nicole’s being picked after that is all the more significant.
“Can you believe it? My whole life, I wanted to be 5’2” and curvaceous and suddenly, being 5’11 and completely sort of skinny and flat chested was like, ‘Great, we can dress you,’” she stated.
Nicole went on to say that she she admires those old Hollywood stars like Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn, and Grace Kelly who were all extremely close with designers. As such, she saw her collaboration with Galliano as an opportunity to bring high fashion back into
Hollywood, reconnecting it with its glamorous traditions.
In her words: “I grew up watching Audrey Hepburn and Katharine Hepburn and Grace Kelly — all these women whose style was created with the designers that they’re affiliated with. They just loved fashion. So I remember thinking, but of course, this should be brought into Hollywood now, and we should be wearing the things that are made in these gorgeous little salons in Paris. Because that’s what they used to do, so why aren’t we still doing it?”
For Nicole, that experience in Galliano’s dress to the Oscars was like a fairy tale come true. She says growing up as a tall, fair-skinned redhead had brought her a spate of teasing when young, so her regard for the fashion world was even deeper. The actress describes those moments in high fashion as stepping into fantasy, opposite as it was from her earlier insecurities.
“I mean, I was a red-headed, fair-skinned girl who was almost 5’11 at the age of 14. I would get teased, and it wasn’t kind. So every time I was given access to that whole world, you feel like a little girl who’s been given the chance to step into this sort of fantasy world,” she shared.
