Nicole Kidman and me: a comparative study in being 59
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Canberra-based award-winning actor Andrea Close has spent a fair bit of her life in front of cameras – which has taught her that good lighting is not a luxury.
Here, she shares her truths about turning 59, ageing, performing, love and life – and the peculiar indignity of comparing your life with an icon.
There are a surprising number of similarities between Nicole Kidman and me.
We’re both 59.
We’re both tall.
We’re both Australian actors.
We’ve both been divorced twice.
And we have both known Keith Urban in the Biblical sense.
I feel it is important, particularly in the interests of journalism, to establish the facts before they become distorted by celebrity, wealth, talent or an Oscar.
It is worth noting that Nicole and I have both recently turned 59, which seems significant. Although, looking at the photographs from her recent British Vogue shoot, I am beginning to question whether we have been on the same planet for those 59 years.
Nicole spent her birthday celebrations travelling through Portofino, Ibiza, London and Iceland, posing in designer clothes, looking windswept and impossibly beautiful.
I spent mine wondering whether I had enough protein-enhanced yoghurt to last the weekend.
The problem with celebrity birthdays is that they can make you feel you’ve somehow failed at ageing.
The difference is that Nicole Kidman has staff to make sure she looks like she knows exactly what she’s doing.
I have a staffy. And frankly, he’s no help whatsoever!
Nicole won an Oscar. She has worked with Stanley Kubrick, Sofia Coppola, Jane Campion and Baz Luhrmann.
I have worked with some extremely talented directors, actors and producers and remain disproportionately excited whenever someone says, “We’d like you to audition.”
Nicole gets offered film roles. Big ones. And she’s become exceptionally skilled at creating work for herself.
My most recent gig was a television commercial for seniors’ insurance.
So, in fairness, I too am creating work for myself.
I get emails saying:
“Hi Andrea, just wondering if you’re available next Tuesday for a commercial…”
And I am.
I am always available next Tuesday.
You can have decades of experience.
Stage.
Screen.
Voiceovers.
And still, when the phone rings, a tiny part of you thinks:
Please let them want me.
The men.
This is where, on paper, our lives are definitely aligned.
To a point.
Nicole and I have both been married and divorced twice.
Nicole has dated men who write songs about her.
I have dated men who should write apology letters.
And there is one similarity between Nicole Kidman and me that deserves closer examination.
We have both ‘known’ Keith Urban.
Admittedly, Nicole has known him rather more recently, extensively and exclusively.
But I refuse to let facts get in the way of a good opening paragraph.
Nicole married Keith.
I am prepared to let you draw your own conclusions about the comparative significance of my contribution to his life.
Post Keith, Nicole is photographed lounging glamorously at exclusive resorts with handsome men.
I am photographed by the security camera at Bunnings buying potting mix.
I’ve recently started Pilates.
I’m sure Nicole does Pilates.
There.
Another similarity.
Although Nicole probably finishes Pilates looking elongated, radiant and serene. Her body appears to respond to exercise by becoming more elegant.
Mine responds by reminding me that I slipped over in spilt scotch and coke and injured my knee at the Kingaroy B&S while dancing to Tears for Fears in 1986.
My knee has apparently been waiting 40 years to shout about it.
But I’m still here.
At 59, I know myself better.
I know what I like and what I don’t like.
I know the people who make me laugh and the people who drain me.
And I know that some things simply aren’t worth the argument.
Women in their fifties and beyond are not finished products.
We’re not background scenery.
We’re still working.
Still making mistakes.
Still having sex
Well…backdate that one to May 2022.
Still laughing.
Still wondering why we walked into the kitchen.
So – the inevitable question … would I like to have Nicole Kidman’s life?
Well…
Obviously.
I mean, come on.
I’d quite like the Oscar.
I’d quite like the film sets. And those handsome co-stars.
I’d quite like just one of the beautiful houses.
And I wouldn’t say no to having someone whose actual job was to make sure I never had to assemble flat-pack furniture again.
But most days I’m pretty content being me.
In my cosy townhouse — with TWO courtyards!
I have work I love.
I have stories I want to tell.
And I still get excited when the phone rings.
Perhaps, after all is said and done, the real similarity between Nicole Kidman and me is that we’re still saying yes.
Nicole has her Oscar.
I have my seniors’ insurance commercial.
And we both know there’s so much more to come.
