Nicole Kidman explains why she seeks out sex-charged roles as she poses for Vogue’s November cover post-split

When you’re an A-lister, the most public way to remind your ex of what they’re missing is by getting back on screen, on stage — or in Nicole Kidman’s case — on the cover of Vogue magazine.

The Aussie actor posed for the magazine’s November edition, showing off her impressive acting range through her fashion choices for the mag, with the cover shot framing her in a soft yet regal bronze gown.

The star, 58, expressed her shape-shifting ability dressed in an amphibious green number, as well as a silver, cleavage-hugging frock that resembled a comic book villain.

Marking her new role as the face of the beauty brand Clé de Peau Beauté, Kidman’s skin glowed in an elegant, soft red Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda piece, as well a Valentino dress and tights.

And finally, to underscore her boss b**** credentials, she sported a lily white blazer and long skirt.

It followed her recent appearance at Chanel’s Paris Fashion Week show alongside the daughters she shares with her ex Urban, Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 14.

Speaking to Vogue as her 19-year marriage to Urban approached its end, it has been made apparent the pair’s relationship was on shaky ground since August, although likely much earlier.

Kidman filed for divorce from the country singer on September 30.

She suggested at the time that something in her life had come unstuck, which was later revealed to be her marriage.

“How many times do you have to be taught that you think you know where your life is going and then it isn’t going in that direction?” she told the magazine.

It’s no secret the mother has regularly gravitated towards sexually-driven roles, with her choices spotlighted in July when Urban famously cut off an Australian radio interview when asked how he feels “when he sees his beautiful wife with beautiful younger men like Zac Efron, having these beautiful love scenes?”

Kidman starred alongside Efron in Netflix’s 2024 film A Family Affair, and in 2012, the Aussie was tasked with urinating on her younger co-star in The Paperboy after Efron’s character was stung multiple times by jellyfish.

However, more recently, it’s the Oscar-snubbed 2024 thriller Babygirl that got fans talking — in which she features alongside British rising star Harris Dickinson.

Kidman plays a high-powered, sexually frustrated CEO who at one point adopts the mannerisms of a house cat while submitting to the erotic demands of a much younger man employed as her intern.

Asked to explain why these types of roles continually interest her, Kidman said, at first, “I don’t know”.

“Isn’t that weird that I don’t know why?” she added, admitting “sex is an important part of our lives and is still, a lot of times, taboo, and it shouldn’t be.”

Baring all in the name of art, Kidman sees many parallels between fashion and cinema.

Announced as the new face of Chanel to coincide with Matthieu Blazy’s debut collection, she likened working with a film director to taking cues from a fashion photographer on the set of a shoot.

“There is commitment to having that piece of art portrayed properly,” she said.

With her eldest daughter carving her own path on the runway as a teenager — most recently for Dior this week in the French capital — Kidman is both trepidatious as a parent, and empathetic as a performer.

“It’s very frightening for me,” Kidman said, admitting she “began working at 14, so I don’t really have a leg to stand on”.