Nicole Kidman Says Trans Women Taught Her Hair and Makeup at Clubs
CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 18: Nicole Kidman during the Kering Women in Motion Talk with Nicole Kidman at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Majestic Hotel on May 18, 2025 in Cannes, France. Photo Credit: Klára Šimonová
by Chris Tremblay Aug 17
3 MIN READ
Nicole Kidman has credited trans women at clubs with teaching her the hair and makeup skills that later became part of her public image.
The actor made the comments in a British Vogue profile published August 13. People and LGBTQ+ outlets Them and PinkNews subsequently reported on the remarks.
“I’ve said it before but I used to go to trans clubs,” Kidman told British Vogue. “That’s where I learnt to do my hair and makeup.”
Kidman described herself at the time as “a little freckled-faced red-headed girl” who would sit down while women at the clubs styled her. “They would make me beautiful,” she said.
She said the makeovers included lashes, straightened hair, hairpieces and makeup. After leaving, she recalled feeling attractive and changed by the experience. “I would walk out of there and I would feel pretty,” she said. “I would feel like I was transformed.”
Kidman linked those early experiences to her later interest in fashion, makeup and hair. She also connected them with her studies in literature and her love of acting.
“And so that’s probably where it all started for me – clothes and make-up and hair – and then all of it mixed with studying literature and loving acting,” Kidman said.
The remarks present the clubs not simply as nightlife venues but as places where Kidman encountered practical beauty knowledge and performance-related expression. The published reports do not identify the clubs, the women involved or the precise dates of Kidman’s visits.
The wording in the interview refers to “trans clubs,” while subsequent coverage characterizes the people who helped Kidman as trans women. The available reports do not establish whether Kidman meant clubs organized specifically for transgender people, venues primarily attended by trans people or particular events within a broader queer nightlife scene.
Kidman’s account appeared in a profile that also discussed her personal life, approach to uncertainty and continuing interest in nightlife. In a separate section of the same interview, she described going to clubs and raves while wearing glasses and, sometimes, a dark wig to avoid recognition.
Kidman said her evening could involve dinner followed by a club at 1 a.m. She told the magazine that disguising herself allowed her to dance, provided she was surrounded by people she had brought with her.
That contemporary clubbing detail gives additional context to Kidman’s recollection of earlier experiences in trans clubs, although the interview does not state that the two periods were connected. The article likewise does not say that Kidman identified as transgender or that her visits represented anything other than the experiences she described.
The comments were widely circulated because they attribute a foundational part of Kidman’s relationship with beauty and presentation to transgender women. Them summarized the story as Kidman going “straight to the source” to learn makeup, while PinkNews reported that she credited trans women with helping her develop beauty skills associated with her Hollywood image.
Kidman’s description centers on instruction, care and transformation rather than on a specific professional makeup artist or formal beauty course. She recalled the women performing the styling themselves and described the emotional effect of leaving the club feeling “pretty” and “transformed.”
No source reviewed for this report independently identified the individual trans women Kidman recalled or corroborated the events through their testimony. The account therefore rests on Kidman’s published recollection, reproduced by multiple outlets, rather than on independently documented details about the clubs or participants.
The interview provides no further explanation of when Kidman began visiting the clubs, how often she went or whether the women understood their interactions as mentorship. Those details remain unavailable in the reporting published by August 14.
What is clear from the interview is that Kidman remembers those encounters as formative. She placed them at the beginning of an enduring interest in hair, makeup and clothing that later became intertwined with literature and acting.
“I’ve said it before but I used to go to trans clubs,” Kidman told British Vogue. “That’s where I learnt to do my hair and makeup.”
Kidman described herself at the time as “a little freckled-faced red-headed girl” who would sit down while women at the clubs styled her. “They would make me beautiful,” she said.
She said the makeovers included lashes, straightened hair, hairpieces and makeup. After leaving, she recalled feeling attractive and changed by the experience. “I would walk out of there and I would feel pretty,” she said. “I would feel like I was transformed.”
A connection to fashion, acting and performance
Kidman linked those early experiences to her later interest in fashion, makeup and hair. She also connected them with her studies in literature and her love of acting.
“And so that’s probably where it all started for me – clothes and make-up and hair – and then all of it mixed with studying literature and loving acting,” Kidman said.
The remarks present the clubs not simply as nightlife venues but as places where Kidman encountered practical beauty knowledge and performance-related expression. The published reports do not identify the clubs, the women involved or the precise dates of Kidman’s visits.
The wording in the interview refers to “trans clubs,” while subsequent coverage characterizes the people who helped Kidman as trans women. The available reports do not establish whether Kidman meant clubs organized specifically for transgender people, venues primarily attended by trans people or particular events within a broader queer nightlife scene.
The comments arrive in a broader discussion of Kidman’s style
Kidman’s account appeared in a profile that also discussed her personal life, approach to uncertainty and continuing interest in nightlife. In a separate section of the same interview, she described going to clubs and raves while wearing glasses and, sometimes, a dark wig to avoid recognition.
Kidman said her evening could involve dinner followed by a club at 1 a.m. She told the magazine that disguising herself allowed her to dance, provided she was surrounded by people she had brought with her.
That contemporary clubbing detail gives additional context to Kidman’s recollection of earlier experiences in trans clubs, although the interview does not state that the two periods were connected. The article likewise does not say that Kidman identified as transgender or that her visits represented anything other than the experiences she described.
Why the account has drawn attention
The comments were widely circulated because they attribute a foundational part of Kidman’s relationship with beauty and presentation to transgender women. Them summarized the story as Kidman going “straight to the source” to learn makeup, while PinkNews reported that she credited trans women with helping her develop beauty skills associated with her Hollywood image.
Kidman’s description centers on instruction, care and transformation rather than on a specific professional makeup artist or formal beauty course. She recalled the women performing the styling themselves and described the emotional effect of leaving the club feeling “pretty” and “transformed.”
No source reviewed for this report independently identified the individual trans women Kidman recalled or corroborated the events through their testimony. The account therefore rests on Kidman’s published recollection, reproduced by multiple outlets, rather than on independently documented details about the clubs or participants.
The interview provides no further explanation of when Kidman began visiting the clubs, how often she went or whether the women understood their interactions as mentorship. Those details remain unavailable in the reporting published by August 14.
What is clear from the interview is that Kidman remembers those encounters as formative. She placed them at the beginning of an enduring interest in hair, makeup and clothing that later became intertwined with literature and acting.
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