--- description: Big Little Lies actor Nicole Kidman used her acceptance speech at the Emmys for best actress in a miniseries to talk about domestic abuse. title: Nicole Kidman Shines a Light on Domestic Abuse in Powerful Emmys Speech image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ba282336da02c71/6988de33096a9467e769fa37/2017-emmy-awards-nicole-kidman.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Nicole Kidman Shines a Light on Domestic Abuse in Powerful Emmys Speech  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Sep 18, 2017 3:15 AM CUT  Nicole Kidman accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a limited series or a movie for "Big Little Lies" at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Nicole Kidman accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a limited series or a movie for "Big Little Lies" at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.Phil McCarten—Invision/AP  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Sep 18, 2017 3:15 AM CUT Nicole Kidman used her acceptance speech at the Emmys to talk about the often [hidden issue of domestic violence](http://time.com/4721757/nicole-kidman-big-little-lies-finale-celeste/ "undefined"). Kidman won Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role in _Big Little Lies_ as a woman married to a man (played by fellow Emmy winner Alexander Skarsgård) who may seem perfect but behind closed doors abuses her. The show in part deals with Kidman coming to grips with the reality of her situation. After she thanked her husband, Keith Urban, and her daughters for supporting her career, Kidman said that she hoped the Emmy win would teach her daughters a valuable lesson about the power of acting. “I want them to know sometimes when you’re acting you get a chance to bring a bigger message. And this is their contribution and your contribution. We shone a light on domestic abuse,” she said. “It is a complicated, insidious disease. It exists far more than we allow ourselves to know. It is filled with shame and secrecy. And by you acknowledging me with this award, it shines a light on it even more. So thank you, thank you, thank you.” Kidman and co-star and co-producer Reese Witherspoon later accepted the award for Best Limited Series for the show. They said they were not getting the sort of work they wanted in Hollywood so they went out and created their own series. They then advocated for more women’s stories on television and more roles for women in Hollywood. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4945683/nicole-kidman-emmy-speech-domestic-abuse/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4945683/nicole-kidman-emmy-speech-domestic-abuse/"},"headline":"Nicole Kidman Shines a Light on Domestic Abuse in Powerful Emmys Speech","datePublished":"2017-09-18T03:15:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:27:59.618Z","description":"Big Little Lies actor Nicole Kidman used her acceptance speech at the Emmys for best actress in a miniseries to talk about domestic abuse.","url":"https://time.com/4945683/nicole-kidman-emmy-speech-domestic-abuse/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ba282336da02c71/6988de33096a9467e769fa37/2017-emmy-awards-nicole-kidman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ba282336da02c71/6988de33096a9467e769fa37/2017-emmy-awards-nicole-kidman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2017-emmy-awards-nicole-kidman","caption":"Nicole Kidman accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a limited series or a movie for \"Big Little Lies\" at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.","creditText":"Phil McCarten—Invision/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4945683/nicole-kidman-emmy-speech-domestic-abuse/","name":"Nicole Kidman Shines a Light on Domestic Abuse in Powerful Emmys Speech"}}]}] ```