--- title: Nicole Kidman on Her Female Director Pledge description: Beyond her pledge to work with more female directors, the actress spoke about her motivations and her desire to make a movie about marriage. canonical: https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7225495/nicole-kidman-women-of-the-year-interview/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-02-26T00:41:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-26T20:46:44.993Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Nicole Kidman on the 'Radical Honesty' of 'Babygirl' and Her Female Director Pledge og:description: And the movie that she wants to make—and maybe write—about marriage. og:url: https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7225495/nicole-kidman-women-of-the-year-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff411c50dd1ec733/6998c46d25f3ee5bd5644676/2201954239.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Nicole Kidman on the 'Radical Honesty' of 'Babygirl' and Her Female Director Pledge og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nicole Kidman on the 'Radical Honesty' of 'Babygirl' and Her Female Director Pledge twitter:description: And the movie that she wants to make—and maybe write—about marriage. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff411c50dd1ec733/6998c46d25f3ee5bd5644676/2201954239.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Feb 26, 2025 # Nicole Kidman on the 'Radical Honesty' of _Babygirl_ and Her Female Director Pledge > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter  Nicole Kidman speaks onstage during the TIME Women Of The Year Leadership Forum on February 25, 2025. Nicole Kidman speaks onstage during the TIME Women Of The Year Leadership Forum on February 25, 2025.Amy Sussman—TIME/Getty Images In 2017, Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman made a pledge: she would work with a female director every 18 months. At the TIME Women of the Year Leadership Forum in Los Angeles on Tuesday, TIME Editorial Director Lucy Feldman revealed that Kidman has far exceeded that goal, working with 19 female directors on film and TV projects over the past eight years. “It was something I wanted to do because the only way to change the numbers was to actually get in the trenches and do it,” Kidman, who is a [2025 TIME Woman of the Year](https://time.com/7216403/nicole-kidman-interview/), said about her promise. “And so I’m still in the trenches doing it.” Beyond her pledge, the actress also spoke about the forces that drive her. Part of her goal, she said, is to give the audience an escape. “There’s many different facets to me, as there are to all of us,” Kidman said. “I’m sort of trying to take a big bite out of the world and what I do, and share my opportunities with other people.” But she’s eager to make “an incredible, incredible love story.” She’s been thinking about making a film about marriage: "I have the desire to make a film about marriage, like a really, really raw, deep film about marriage and partnership, all of those things.” The idea is still in early stages, and she’s considering writing it herself or collaborating with a co-writer. Kidman appeared in a number of projects in 2024 that were directed by women, including [_The Perfect Couple_](https://time.com/7018623/the-perfect-couple-ending-explained-netflix/) and [_Babygirl_](https://time.com/7203018/babygirl-review-nicole-kidman/)_._ She discussed the latter film_,_ directed by Halina Reijn, in which Kidman’s character, a chief executive officer at an Amazon-like company, engages in an affair with a much younger intern. “It was incredibly female in its gaze and in its storytelling, and it was fascinating to see that be put out in the world,” she said. “But what was really great was that the film made money, so by that happening, it makes the opportunities more available for more women to write their projects.” The actress said she thinks that part of the reason the percentage of women helming movies and TV shows is still low is because women are often judged very harshly, which means “we don’t have the ability to fail upwards.” For Kidman, this is a crucial point. “You deserve a second, third, fourth chance,” Kidman said. “The way you develop your talent—really, is it going to be immediate? It’s going to be layer upon layer, step by step. And that requires patience.” She continued, “I was one of the fortunate ones where I was given a chance over and over and over again, and I’m still being given that.” Kidman said she was grateful to be part of a movie like _Babygirl,_ adding that she hadn’t really seen women and their sexuality depicted like that on screen before. The film’s “radical honesty” was intended to “throw something into the world that kind of disrupted, agitated or ignited or turned on people,” and, in turn, spark a conversation, Kidman said. The project was so new for her—and even “dangerous,” she said—but that was what excited her about it. She urged everyone to resist judging women and their work so harshly, and allow for growth and opportunity. “Because by doing that, we’re actually helping each other. And we’re helping the world because the stories about us being put out there build compassion and empathy and understanding,” Kidman said. _The Women of the Year Leadership Forum was presented by Amazon, Booking.com, Chase, Deloitte_, _the American Heart Association, and Toyota._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7225495/nicole-kidman-women-of-the-year-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7225495/nicole-kidman-women-of-the-year-interview/"},"headline":"Nicole Kidman on the 'Radical Honesty' of 'Babygirl' and Her Female Director Pledge","datePublished":"2025-02-26T00:41:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-26T20:46:44.993Z","description":"Beyond her pledge to work with more female directors, the actress spoke about her motivations and her desire to make a movie about marriage.","url":"https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7225495/nicole-kidman-women-of-the-year-interview/","keywords":["Women of the Year","sponsorshipblock"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff411c50dd1ec733/6998c46d25f3ee5bd5644676/2201954239.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chantelle Lee","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/"}],"creator":"Chantelle Lee","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff411c50dd1ec733/6998c46d25f3ee5bd5644676/2201954239.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"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/women-of-the-year/","name":"Women of the Year"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/women-of-the-year/7225495/nicole-kidman-women-of-the-year-interview/","name":"Nicole Kidman on the 'Radical Honesty' of 'Babygirl' and Her Female Director Pledge"}}]}] ```