Nicole Kidman Says Fame When She Was Single Was 'Much Harder': 'There Wasn't a Shield'

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Nicole Kidman is reflecting on how she managed fame during her single days.

Speaking with The Sydney Morning Herald in a recent interview, the 53-year-old actress told the publication that she thinks fame was "much harder" for her when she was single "because there wasn't a shield."

"There wasn't a place to go and to work through it, with a partner," she said, before she noted how she would lean on others to be her safeguard — including her sister, Antonia Kidman.

"I was lucky because my sister would come," Nicole added. "I remember her flying to Cannes [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."

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Speed Media/Shutterstock Antonia Kidman, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban

Nicole, who recently celebrated her 14th wedding anniversary with husband Keith Urban, continued to detail her connection with her sister.

"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," she said. "We're almost twins and we've been through a lot."

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"I showed up for her and she showed up for me," Nicole added. "That's a lovely thing to have."

Antonia, who also spoke to the publication, described her relationship with her sister as one where they are both open books. "Nicole will say things to me that I don't know whether anyone else will say, or I won't listen to from anyone else," she said.

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Nicole Kidman Admits Husband Keith Urban Sometimes 'Needs to Escape' Their 'Female-Heavy' Family

The Oscar winner said her "actual life with my husband and two daughters is quite simple"

Later in the interview, the sisters bonded over their roles as mothers and the connection that they each share with their children.

"Since she's had her children and married Keith, she's sort of managed to maintain a very strong connection with her girls and her mothering role," Antonia said. "I've got a number of older children, so she talks to me about stuff in relation to parenting."

Nicole shares two children – Sunday Rose, 12, and Faith Margaret, 9 – with Urban, and also has two adopted children, Isabella, 27, and Connor, 25, from her first marriage to Tom Cruise. Antonia has six children of her own, aged 7 to 22, according to the outlet.

Antonia then added that the key to her sister's tight-knit family is that they work together as one at all times. "She weaves normality into their lives," she said of Nicole. "She creates that sameness wherever they are. And they move heaven and earth to return to the fold. It's a testament to that commitment."