Nicole Kidman Said Her Marriage To Tom Cruise Helped Her Avoid Harassment

Nicole Kidman Boy Erased

For more than 30 years, Nicole Kidman has been a leading presence in film and television. The Academy Award-winning actress has made appearances in everything, including acclaimed indies, respected studio movies, wildly expensive blockbusters, and a popular HBO series. She is assuredly one of the most recognizable and acclaimed performers working in Hollywood, although it hasn't been an easy road for the actress. As she admitted in a recent article, Nicole Kidman found her marriage to Tom Cruise started out of love, but it ultimately became "protection" for the rising star.

Being married to Tom Cruise at 22 is something I'm always reluctant to talk about, because I'm married now to the man who is my great love [Keith Urban], and it almost feels disrespectful. That said, I got married very young, but it definitely wasn't power for me -- it was protection. I married for love, but being married to an extremely powerful man kept me from being sexually harassed. I would work, but I was still very much cocooned.

As Nicole Kidman confessed in a recent tell-all piece for The Cut, transcribed by Holly Millea, the beloved actress found herself married to Tom Cruise, one of the biggest actors in the world, at a particularly young age: 22. Because of this decision, Kidman believes her marriage to the Mission: Impossible star saved her from harassment and other troubling concerns that unfortunately have been known to befall people in Hollywood -- particularly young celebs.

But when her marriage to Tom Cruise reached its end in 2001, after they were married in 1990, Nicole Kidman claimed she needed to "grow up."

So when I came out of it at 32, 33, it's almost like I had to grow up.

While her marriage to Tom Cruise was able to prevent unwanted harassment in the industry, Nicole Kidman claims she did have "#MeToo moments" throughout her life, even when she was younger. Even though she didn't want to "expose them" in this confessional piece, Kidman claims she's been the subject of harassment. But the actress claims she has used those experiences to fuel her work. Kidman also mentioned she's currently working in the untitled Roger Ailes biopic with Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie, although there were reports claiming that Annapurna, the production company finalizing the film, dropped the film weeks before filming commenced.

When Nicole Kidman was on the stage accepting her Oscar for The Hours in 2003, that's when Nicole Kidman claims she felt she was a powerful figure in Hollywood. But there were years when that wasn't the case, and there was a time when she needed to be protected by her famous ex-husband Tom Cruise from harassment. This isn't the first time Nicole Kidman has opened up recently about her marriage to Cruise, meanwhile. She also recently talked about her struggles with miscarriages during their marriage together.

Meanwhile, as an actress, Nicole Kidman has kept herself busy. She recently appeared in How to Talk to Girls at Parties earlier this year, and she'll soon be seen in Boy Erased, Destroyer, The Upside, and Aquaman, as well as The Goldfinch next year. Kidman also filmed a role in the new season of Big Little Lies on HBO, where she is once again joined by Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley. That newest season is expected to air next year.

Will Ashton

Will is an entertainment writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. His writing can also be found in The Playlist, Cut Print Film, We Got This Covered, The Young Folks, Slate and other outlets. He also co-hosts the weekly film/TV podcast Cinemaholics with Jon Negroni and he likes to think he's a professional Garfield enthusiast.