When photos of Nicole Kidman at the airport in her natural curls surfaced over the holiday break, some were quick to speculate that the Oscar winner was bringing the curls back as part of her new chapter; she split from husband of 19 years Keith Urban in 2025. But while Kidman typically depends on blowouts and wigs for red carpets and roles, she actually wears her hair curly more often than you think!
Kidman’s curls popped up multiple times during the holidays, including at a Christmas Eve party in her native Australia, where she wore her hair loose and natural in a pile of windswept ringlets with a butter yellow slip dress. (E! has the pix if you’re curious.) They showed up again in the airport shots seen ‘round the world, and then again in a sweet photo of Kidman posing with her sister Antonia. In the sister-sister pic, Kidman’s strawberry-blonde hair is parted in the center and worn in long ringlets down her back, looking gorgeous against her chartreuse lace dress and delicate pink blush and lipstick.
When Kidman first hit the big screen in the ’80s, her hair was a major part of her look: strawberry blonde or light red, voluminous, and—as Carrie Bradshaw would say—c-c-c curly! As her star began to rise, she started wearing her hair straight much more often, something she recently said she regrets. “Why did I straighten my hair? I loved my hair there. That is my natural hair. Isn’t that crazy?” she told Allure last year. “Do not follow in my steps and straighten your hair. I can do that to my hair still, but it needs to be kind of humid, and I need to use the right product.”
But the curls do come out a few times a year, at least from what we can see via Kidman’s social media. She typically wears her hair curly during her downtime or on vacation, because who has time for a blowout when you’re on the beach? The curl conditions were right during her summer 2025 vacation, a trip to Côte d’Azur, and for a springy selfie series; the ringlets have popped up on the red carpet on occasion, and Kidman also posted a throwback video of her iconic ‘80s/’90s curls on Instagram in August 2025, leading to lots of comments about the hairstyle. One thing we love about Kidman is that she’s a true chameleon both onscreen and off, and she’s always down to try a new hairstyle or take a challenging, transformative role. Fingers crossed for more curl sightings in 2026!
