Nicole Kidman on Red Carpets, Dermaplaning, and Feeling Like Herself

At 59, Nicole Kidman has learned that the most transformative beauty philosophy is one rooted in authenticity. While her on-screen chameleon abilities are legendary—that prosthetic nose in The Hours left audiences speechless—her off-screen approach to beauty is entirely different. The actor has become a champion of feeling herself, not performing a version of herself, when stepping into public spaces.

“I’ve got to be able to walk a red carpet and feel comfortable,” Kidman explains. “Feel like myself and feel very free. If I feel too confined, that won’t be good for anyone. That ability to feel free and normal in those really extreme situations, I’m wired for that now.”

This confidence, however, wasn’t always present.

The Long Road to Self-Acceptance

Kidman started her career young—modeling at 14 and 15 alongside early acting roles—out of financial necessity. “I was using the modeling to make money so that I could fund my acting,” she says. During those formative years, the industry’s backhanded compliments took their toll. “People used to always say to me, ‘When you grow up, you’re gonna be so pretty.’ I was like, ‘Huh?’” The implication stung. She’d find herself studying her reflection, wondering what those adults saw that she didn’t. “I’d look in the mirror and I’d go, What does that mean? I wanna be pretty now.”

Physical development compounded her teenage insecurity. At 5’10” even then, she towered over her peers. “I was all arms and legs, and I didn’t have control over my body, in a way,” she recalls. She longed for the pin-straight blonde hair that dominated the era’s beauty standards—hair that didn’t match her natural texture or coloring.

Reframing Those Early Critics

Looking back decades later, Kidman has recontextualized those criticisms. “I understand what they were saying, in a way,” she says thoughtfully. “But I feel pretty now. I just go, okay, well, this is who I am. I’m grateful to have what I have and to be able to use it.”

That self-acceptance has been bolstered by a clearer understanding of her own face. “I think because of my coloring and the way in which my face is structured, I can morph and change so easily because I don’t really have any dominant features,” she explains. Rather than viewing her face as unremarkable, she’s recognized it as endlessly malleable—a professional asset and a canvas for experimentation.

The Actor’s Relationship With Makeup and Hair

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On set, Kidman has always understood makeup and hair as storytelling tools rather than ego-driven choices. “I love the idea of creating a character. That’s what makeup, costumes, hair, all of it—even changing the way you move, does,” she says. This philosophy extends to movement coaching, a practice that was standard during classic Hollywood’s era and is now experiencing a professional resurgence.

“They’re really utilizing how you can become different characters,” Kidman says of modern movement coaches. “I have zero interest in playing myself on screen.” That distinction—between the freedom to be authentic in everyday life versus the discipline required to disappear into a role—has shaped her beauty approach throughout her career. Whether it was the prosthetic work in The Hours or the demands of recent projects like the new season of Lioness, which debuted this month, she views transformation as a craft, not a vanity.

Her Current Skincare Routine

In her fifties, Kidman has streamlined her approach to beauty maintenance, leaning into science-backed techniques rather than invasive procedures. One recent convert practice is dermaplaning—a physical exfoliation method using a specialized blade to remove dead skin and fine vellus hair.

Why Dermaplaning Changed Her Routine

“I do dermaplane, which I’d never done,” Kidman says. “I started that about a year ago, and I feel like my moisturizer goes on more easily, the serums that I use.” She’d historically avoided the practice due to a common misconception. “I’d been scared of it because I thought it’s like shaving.”

The reality proved different. “But it just gives my skin this natural exfoliation,” she explains. By removing the outer layer of dead cells and fine hair, dermaplaning allows her serums and moisturizers to absorb more effectively—a simple efficiency gain that’s made a noticeable difference in her regimen. This measured, evidence-based approach to skincare aligns with her broader philosophy of aging without defensiveness.

Partnering With Clé de Peau Beauté

Kidman has been a spokesperson for Clé de Peau Beauté since last year, a partnership that reflects her multifaceted identity. The brand recently unveiled The Many Sides of Radiance, a video series featuring Kidman that launched Monday. Rather than positioning her solely as a beauty face, the campaign honors her layered professional life.

Beyond Beauty: Her Advocacy and Creative Work

The series spotlights three dimensions of Kidman’s career: her acting work, her role as a producer, and her advocacy for fellow women film directors and actors. She’s demonstrated a willingness to explore unconventional content partnerships—last year, she did an Allure cover interview conducted inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, proving her comfort with experimental beauty narratives.

What’s Next: Practical Magic and Beyond

Kidman’s 2026 has been notably active. Beyond Lioness’s new season premiere this month, the sequel to the cult classic Practical Magic is slated for September release—a project that will undoubtedly involve another round of character-driven beauty work. Yet even with these high-profile commitments, she maintains a life outside the entertainment sphere.

A passionate tennis enthusiast, Kidman recently finished watching Rafa, the Netflix documentary on Rafael Nadal. She’s currently reading Arundhati Roy’s memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me and is deep into Elizabeth Strout’s The Things We Never Say. “Some of those are odd recommendations,” she acknowledges of her eclectic cultural interests, “but that’s my cultural type.”

That diversity—moving fluidly between professional transformation and personal authenticity, between beauty work and literary pursuits—defines her approach. She’s not performing confidence for the camera anymore. She’s simply living it.