Last night, Nicole Kidman received the American Film Institute’s coveted Life Achievement Award—and she certainly dressed the part. The actress, Omega ambassador, and recent ELLE cover star walked the red carpet at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles wearing a custom gold sequin Balenciaga gown, looking like a trophy herself.
The fitted dress had thin straps and a short train that Kidman delicately draped over one arm. In terms of accessories, she wore a few shimmery rings and a gold Omega watch. Her blonde hair was styled in gentle waves around her face.
The event drew a number of Kidman’s past onscreen partners, including Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Naomi Watts, and Reese Witherspoon. Freeman delighted the audience with a parody of Kidman’s viral AMC advertisement that famously plays ahead of the theater’s screenings. “My dream will be to be onstage doing it with a drag queen,” she recently told ELLE in our April issue. “I’ve got to be able to do that at some point.”
Other attendees included Cate Blanchett, Hugh Jackman, Jimmy Fallon, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, George Miller, and Baz Luhrmann. Notably, Kidman is the first Australian to ever be presented with the award at the event, which doubles as a fundraiser for the American Film Institute and raised over $2 million that evening.
During her acceptance speech, the Big Little Lies star thanked her husband Keith Urban, her colleagues, and her fans for their unwavering support over the years.
“I like to think that I’m just getting started, but it’s not true, because really, let’s just hope I’m in the middle,” she told the crowd. “I’ve got my fingers crossed. There’s so many more exciting young directors and voices that are completely original and need to be heard, and they have a lot to say. We need to give them a chance to say it and to hear them, and I am here, I am ready to roll up my sleeves. I am here always to support those voices.”
A few days before receiving the award, Kidman shared some clips on Instagram of her role as Helen in 1983’s Bush Christmas.
“This 14-year-old girl could have never predicted all the talented people she would get to work with and the many different characters she would get to play 😱. So excited to celebrate with so many friends and peers on Saturday with the @AmericanFilmInstitute xx,” she wrote in the caption.