Actress Nicole Kidman and her husband, country musician Keith Urban, are some of Australia’s most famous expats to the United States, and the couple are donating $500,000 to help fight the wildfires that have claimed 25 lives and, some speculate, destroyed close to 1 billion animals in their home country.
The couple made the announcement on their various social media accounts:
“Our family’s support, thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the fires all over Australia. We are donating $500,000 to the Rural Fire Services who are all doing and giving so much right now.”
The couple’s house in Sydney has been threatened by the encroaching fires, and they were visibly upset at the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 5, 2020. Kidman told reporters on the red carpet, per US Weekly, “I’m so sorry. I’m so distracted right now with everything that’s happening in Australia.”
Kidman and Urban have a farm in Bunya Hill with a $4.5 million farmhouse and 111 acres of land, which has been threatened by fires raging in the area. An anonymous source who claimed to know Kidman well told US Weekly, “She just found out and got off a plane right before coming here. She was crying walking in.”
When asked at the Golden Globe Awards about the status of her house by Access Hollywood host Mario Lopez on the red carpet, Kidman responded, “It’s not about us, it’s about this beautiful, beautiful country. The animals, the people, everything.”
Born in New Zealand, Urban said in an interview with Access Hollywood: “The help they’re going to need is going to go on a bit longer than just now.” Kidman added, looking into the camera to send a message back home: “We love you, Australia.”
Kidman, nominated for Best Actress in a Television Series for her role in “Big Little Lies,” wasn’t the only Australian performer at the Golden Globes to be affected by the ongoing wildfires, which have raged since September 2019 in the wake of several years of drought.
At the Golden Globes, Margot Robbie, who hails from a farm near the small town of Dalby, Queensland, told Extra TV: “Everyone’s feeling really overwhelmed, obviously devastated. I would just say to anyone to donate even a dollar or the cost of a cup of coffee ... it’s seriously going to help. The country’s really hurting.”
New Zealand-born actor Russell Crowe, who has lived most of his life in Australia and considers it his home, missed the awards to help defend his house in Rose Bay, near Sydney, though he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture for TV for his role in “The Loudest Voice.” Crowe spearheaded a fundraising campaign that resulted in $400,000 being donated to the Rural Fire Service brigades, $200,000 of which was his own.
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