Nicole Kidman’s next role: Death doula

Australian-American actress and film producer Nicole Kidman is set to become a death doula.

A death doula is someone who helps people who are dying. They give emotional and practical support and are not doctors or nurses.

Kidman shared this news at a talk in San Francisco, saying it might sound a little strange and she decided to do this after her mother died.

Her mother was lonely at the end of her life. Her family had many children and jobs. They could not always be there. Kidman wished there was someone who could sit with her mother and give comfort. That person would be fair and calm. That is what a death doula does.

Kidman's father died in 2014. She wants to learn this new skill as part of growing as a person.

Hollywood director, Chloé Zhao, also trained as a death doula. Zhao said she has always been very afraid of dying. She said her fear made it hard to live fully. She wants to have a healthier relationship with death. She said if she does not face her fear, the rest of her life will be too hard.