Nicole Kidman Wrote a Powerful Letter About Domestic Violence

Nicole Kidman has written a powerful letter about domestic violence, an issue that often goes unreported because of the accompanying shame and stigma, among other factors. Kidman earlier this month won the Emmy for her performance in HBO’s Big Little Lies as Celeste, the wife and victim of a controlling and abusive spouse who eventually finds freedom and inner peace with the help of her therapist and a tight group of female supporters.

While accepting her award, Kidman called out the issue, and in an open letter for Porter magazine’s winter issue (the letter is not yet fully available but has been excerpted by several outlets), the actress expands on the need to recognize and support the struggles of women worldwide.

“It never occurred to me that I should be at a disadvantage because I was born a girl…The idea that women and men are equal is part of my DNA. I was raised by a strong feminist mother and a fully supportive father,” she writes. Her “feminist roots” eventually led her to look outside her own family, as a Goodwill Ambassador to U.N. Women. “It is in this role that I come to fully understand the barriers that women around the world are facing. I have focused on lending my voice to women who are survivors of violence. The stories I have heard from them have shaken me to the core and changed me forever…More than ever, I am aware of the need to support and celebrate each other,” she writes.

Kidman is also profiled in the magazine, and talks openly about her proudly feminist upbringing in Australia. “My mother was part of the Women’s Electoral Lobby and would take me to hand out pamphlets when there was voting on behalf of feminism. That’s how I was raised,” she says.

As she had in August, when she spoke with W about filming Big Little Lies, Kidman also discussed with Porter of the difficulty of filming Big Little Lies‘ many physically and emotionally strenuous scenes; the series was unflinching in its portrayal of an abusive relationship, and the work took its toll. “I was quite traumatized after [filming] because we would shoot [the violent scenes] repeatedly,” she explained. “I was emotionally and physically traumatized. I’d come back and I’d need Keith [Urban, her husband] to hold me, just to feel soothed.”

Watch: Nicole Kidman Could Go on “Survivor” and Crush It

Nicole Kidman Could Go on “Survivor” and Crush It