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Nicole Kidman Reveals Lifelong Insecurity About Her Height and Why She Can’t Wear High Heels
Nicole Kidman is known for her tall, statuesque physique, but has revealed in a new interview how she’s had a lifelong insecurity about her height and was told it could result in her not making it in Hollywood.
“I was told, ‘You won’t have a career. You’re too tall,'” Nicole, 56, told Radio Times in an interview published on Tuesday, January 16.
When she was 13 years old, the Bombshell star was already 5-foot-9. Even today, she’s still shy about her height, adding, “I say I’m 5-foot-10 1/2, but I’m really 5-foot-11.”
Nicole was bullied as a teen for her height. “I was teased and called ‘Stalky.’ People would say, ‘How’s the air up there?'”
She continued, “Now, I get, ‘You’re so much taller than I thought’, or men grappling with how high my heels should be.”
That has resulted in the Nine Perfect Strangers star having to be careful what she wears to high profile Hollywood events. “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!'”
Sometimes Nicole’s height has worked as a disadvantage when it comes to roles. “It will bother me when I’m acting and I want to be small, but then there are times when I appreciate it and can use it in my work,” she revealed.
The Australia-raised star previously revealed how thrilled she was to work alongside Alexander Skarsgård in the first season of Big Little Lies, as the actor is 6-foot-4 and she looked much tinier in comparison.
“He is obviously very tall which is really, really helpful for me,” Nicole told Vulture in 2017. “It’s not often that I look small. So physically he’s very dominating as well, which is frightening, but I take him on.” She played a battered wife in the HBO series, and Nicole and Alexander’s performances went on to win them major awards, including Emmys, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Critics Choice Awards for their performances.
The Northman star has had to deal with physical ailments due to her tall stature.
“Hey, I’m incredibly grateful to be healthy and walking around. Having said that, I’ve had knee issues and all sorts of things, partly because of my height!” she told Radio Times.
Nicole shares two daughters with husband Keith Urban: Sunday Rose, 15, and Faith Margaret, 13. She wants to make sure that if they end up with her height to not let it give them the insecurity she had growing up.
“I tell my daughters is that none of it matters. 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,” she confessed.
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