The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today that the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute celebrating Nicole Kidman will take place April 27, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The event was originally scheduled for 2023. The air dates for the Emmy® Award-winning Tribute special on TNT and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will be announced at a later date.
As previously announced, Kidman is the first Australian actor to receive the AFI Life Achievement Award. Both a powerhouse performer, spellbinding movie star and accomplished producer, Nicole Kidman has captured the imaginations of audiences throughout her prolific career, delivering complex and versatile performances onscreen. Seamlessly moving between independent and studio films, Kidman has earned a reputation for her extraordinary talent, commitment to her craft and desire to work with auteur filmmakers including Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Baz Luhrmann, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Lars von Trier, Aaron Sorkin and Stanley Kubrick.
A five-time Academy Award® nominee, Kidman’s wonderfully restrained and transformational turn as Virginia Woolf in THE HOURS earned her the Oscar® for Best Actress in 2003. Following her stunning breakthrough performance in 1989’s DEAD CALM, Kidman has captivated global audiences, from her daring performance as Alice Harford in EYES WIDE SHUT and enchanting Satine in MOULIN ROUGE!, to her raw turn as Grace Margaret Mulligan in DOGVILLE and her enthralling portrayal of Lucille Ball in BEING THE RICARDOS. Throughout her distinguished career, Kidman has won a BAFTA Award, two Emmys® and six Golden Globes – and is widely regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. She co-founded her production company Blossom Films in 2010.
Across film and television, she has delivered remarkably nuanced performances characterized by their unflinching courage, vulnerability and tenacity, with additional acting credits including: DAYS OF THUNDER (1990), FAR AND AWAY (1992), BATMAN FOREVER (1995), TO DIE FOR (1995), THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY (1996), PRACTICAL MAGIC (1998), THE OTHERS (2001), THE HUMAN STAIN (2003), COLD MOUNTAIN (2003), BIRTH (2004), THE INTERPRETER (2005), AUSTRALIA (2008), NINE (2009), RABBIT HOLE (2010), THE PAPERBOY (2012), STOKER (2013), PADDINGTON (2014), QUEEN OF THE DESERT (2015), LION (2016), THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (2017), THE BEGUILED (2017), THE UPSIDE (2017), BOY ERASED (2018), DESTROYER (2018), AQUAMAN (2018), BOMBSHELL (2019), and THE NORTHMAN (2022). She has also starred in and produced multiple critically acclaimed television programs, including HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN (2012), BIG LITTLE LIES (2017-2019), TOP OF THE LAKE (2017), THE UNDOING (2020), NINE PERFECT STRANGERS (2021) and SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS (2023).
In theater, Kidman made a highly lauded London stage debut in the fall of 1998, starring with Iain Glen in “The Blue Room,” David Hare’s modern adaptation of Schnitzler’s “La Ronde.” For her performance, Kidman won London’s Evening Standard Award and was nominated in the Best Actress category for a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2015, Kidman was seen on the West End stage in Anna Ziegler’s “Photograph 51,” for which she received a London’s Evening Standard Award.
In January of 2006, Kidman was awarded Australia’s highest honor, the Companion of the Order of Australia. She was also awarded the Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear award for her performance in THE HOURS. In 2017, the Cannes Film Festival honored Kidman with the 70th Anniversary Prize for her body of work and longstanding history with the festival. She is one of only eight people to ever receive this honor.
Kidman has served as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women for nearly two decades. Along with her husband, Keith Urban, she has helped raise millions over the years for the Stanford Women’s Cancer Program which is a world-renowned center for research into the causes, treatment, prevention, and eventual cure of women’s cancer.
Kidman’s many upcoming projects include Lulu Wang’s EXPATS for Amazon, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM for Warner Brothers and HOLLAND, MICHIGAN for Amazon.
AFI Life Achievement Award Recipients
The 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Honoree joins an esteemed group of individuals who have been chosen for this distinguished honor since its inception.
