Nicole Kidman remembers late look-alike father in heartwarming birthday tribute

The loss of a parent is never easy and Australian actress Nicole Kidman knows this all too well. The 53-year-old never shies away from opening up about her father Antony, who died suddenly in 2014, and on Thursday, Nicole took to social media to pay tribute to her late ‘papa’ on what would have been his 82nd birthday.

Taking to Instagram, Nicole shared a heartwarming post, alongside two never-before-seen photos. The first photo features Nicole with her mother Janelle, 80, and father. In the image, her parents appear to be doting over a newborn baby girl, although it’s no clear whether the baby is one of Nicole and Keith Urban’s two daughters, 12-year-old Sunday and nine-year-old Faith. The second shows Antony posing happily while donning workout gear.

“Papa, today would have been your 82nd birthday,” she wrote. “We miss you each and every day.”

Nicole’s father, Antony, died of a heart attack inside a Singapore restaurant in September 2014 at age 75. He worked as a psychologist and academic and was Director of the Health Psychology Unit at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital before his sudden death.

 

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Many of Nicole’s fans responded to the post and sent Nicole their best wishes. One wrote: “The heart will always ache for our loved ones in heaven. Happy birthday to your father!” Another said: “Sending all my love to you! I’m sure your papa was amazing.”

Others commented on Nicole’s likeness to her father, with one writing: “You have your father’s beautiful smile.” Another added: “You look just like him.”

Nicole’s sweet Instagram post comes almost two weeks after the actress paid tribute to her “compassionate” father in a candid chat with TV Week . Speaking to the publication about her new hit television miniseries The Undoing, the 53-year-old, who plays a psychologist named Grace in the drama, said much of her insight came from observing her father’s work.

“He was a compassionate man, who offered to see people for nothing if they couldn’t afford to see him,” she said.

“My sister [Antonia] and I were talking recently about how lucky we were, because I would turn to my father for advice all the time, and to my mother [Janelle] too.

“I remember calling him before I went on [the West End] stage to do The Blue Room [in 1998], having a complete meltdown in terms of stage fright, and he just talked me through it on the phone. He gave me the ability to handle this industry, because it’s really tough.”

Nicole also revealed she’s felt a closeness to her Undoing co-star Donald Sutherland, who plays Grace’s supportive father in the miniseries, because he shares similarities with her father.

“Donald is my dad’s height and he reminds me of my father,” she said. “So I’d go up to him and want to just snuggle him all the time!”