Everyone pledges to work with more female directors, Nicole Kidman actually did it.

There's a running joke that Nicole Kidman is the hardest-working woman in show business. 

At the 2025 Golden Globes earlier this year, host Nikki Glaser made light of Kidman's dedication to filmmaking, singling out the Aussie actress for her 20th nomination.

"I mean, incredible. Thank you so much for all of your hard work," Glaser said in the opening monologue, adding: "And thank you to Keith Urban for playing guitar around the house so much that she wants to leave and make 18 movies a year."

It's an obvious joke, one that's become commonplace across social media and late-night talk shows as fans marvel at Kidman's work ethic — one that saw her release six projects in 2024 alone.

It's all in good fun of course. We're talking about the punchline being 'hey, this lady is so talented and successful, she's in everything!' and that's a joke we can fly with. But it speaks to a larger truth facing women in Hollywood.

Is there a reason Kidman has been so much more committed to her craft in recent years? Yes. And it's a motivation we could all stand to learn from.

Kidman's dedication to producing more films and TV shows has come from her commitment to uplifting female filmmakers — and the leading ladies of Hollywood could learn a thing or two from this Australian icon.

In 2017, Kidman made a pledge to work with more women, saying she planned to work with a female director at least once every 18 months.

Since then, she's worked with 19 in her capacity as both an actor and a producer.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were front and centre at the Golden Globes. Image: Getty.

Kidman's commitment is admirable at a glance, but a closer look leaves us all with an important call to action.

Allow me to walk us back for a minute.

This conversation reared its head in October last year, when Emma Stone was revealed to be filming a fourth project with director Yorgos Lanthimos. Together, they've worked on the award-winning films The Favourite, Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness. Now, they're teaming up for the sci-fi film Bugonia, set for release in 2025.

The Bugonia announcement kicked off a very 'chronically online' discussion around her consistent work with this male director. Her consistent work with many male directors, in fact. In response to the new film, Twitter resurfaced Stone's former quotes about the prevalence of male directors in Hollywood.

"I just can't stop thinking about that bit she did on stage about no female directors being nominated for any major awards," one person wrote on Twitter (X). "Meanwhile, she's on her fourth collaboration with the same male director."

The 'bit' in question refers to when Stone presented the 'Best Director Award' at the Oscars in 2018 and made this statement: "It is the director whose indelible touch is reflected on every frame. It is the director who, shot by shot, scene by scene, day by day, works with every member of the crew to further the story. These four men, and Greta Gerwig, created their own masterpieces this year."

She was 'sassy', she was clear, she had a point to make. But in 2024, as she announced another male-led project, the quote was thrown back in her face.

Fans seemed unable to put their finger on exactly what the issue was, though.

Can Stone, a celebrated actress and known feminist, not work with male directors because she also wants female directors to succeed? It felt like an unanswerable question as the discourse raged on, and on, and oh my gosh the internet is torture at times.

But the question still felt… important. And then, there appeared to be an answer in the form of Kirsten Dunst and Nicole Kidman.

Emma Stone was caught up in a conversation around women working with male directors. Image: Getty.

"Kirsten Dunst said this a few years ago: Something like, if you want to advocate for female directors as an actress, you have to actively seek out projects from female directors," one fan wrote in response to the Emma Stone drama.

Dunst famously spoke about her work with women during a discussion for The Hollywood Reporter's round-table series. Sitting opposite Dunst was The Good Wife star Julianna Margulies, who spoke about the difficulties of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. About how annoying it was that she didn't get to work with female directors.

Dunst chimed in.

"You know what's so funny? I've worked with so many female directors. But I think that's because I have really, really strong female relationships. I've worked with so many female directors and I think it's up to us as actresses to do that," she said. 

"To do what though?" Marguilese asked.

"To give the opportunity to first-time directors," Dunst replied. "Most of those people, it was their first time. You've just gotta find it and create it for yourself."

Dunst wasn't being condescending or self-righteous, she was just stating something she clearly felt: if you have succeeded and you're now in a position of power, you should help others climb that same ladder. Be an active part of solving the problem; tie your own success and powerful name to projects that lift up other women.

Dunst went on to say she was working with another favourite female director on an upcoming project, Sofia Coppola. The film Dunst was referring to was The Beguiled, which also starred Australian actress Nicole Kidman.

On the press tour for that very film, Kidman made a vow to work with at least one female director every 18 months. Since then, she's worked on 19 projects directed by women. Including her recent Golden Globe-nominated role as Romy in Babygirl.

"I think it's necessary to say that every 18 months I'll make a movie with a female director," she told the New Zealand Herald in a junket for another film, The Killing Of A Sacred Deer. "Because that's the only way statistics will change when other women start to go, 'Oh, I'm actually going to choose only a woman now.' So every 18 months there has to be a female director in the equation."

Babygirl is another female-led project for Kidman. Image: Supplied.

Further elaborating at a press conference, she said, "Only 4.2 percent of women directed the main motion pictures of 2016. That's a statistic from the Women in Film group. There were 4000 episodic television series last year and only 183 women directed them. That says it all. So I think that's an important thing to say and keep saying.

"As a woman in this industry, if you have a little power, if you have the chance to get something greenlit, if you have the chance to say who you want to direct it, if you go, 'I want a female to do this,' that will help," Kidman told Variety. She also quoted Meryl Streep as having said of Hollywood's gender gap, "The only way you actually change it is by doing it."

And there it is, the motivating force behind Kidman's wild work ethic.

We can complain about the system, or we can do something about it. It takes years to reach the elevated position Dunst and Kidman are in — to be able to uplift other women through their own star power, rather than just fighting for themselves in an industry that routinely devalues the talent and expertise of women. But when you can, you should. It's a code Kidman lives by.

Now, there is an incredibly obvious caveat to consider here: all the women in this story are white.

The idea of paving the way forward to lift others up is not new to women of colour. Kerry Washington, Viola Davis and Queen Latifah are just a few Hollywood stars who launched their own production companies once they'd "made it" in the industry. Bridgerton star Simone Ashley recently launched her own film production company, despite having spent just a few years in Hollywood herself.

"The more experience I have in my work and in this industry, the more I'm learning that producing your own work is really important. That's how you can make a change and tell the stories that may not usually have a chance to see the light of day," she said, of starting her own business.

Given it's statistically much more difficult for women of colour to break through in Hollywood, it's unsurprising that they have long taken on the work of bringing other women up behind them. But when it comes to white women in Hollywood, this appears to be less common.

Some fans of Stone were quick to dismiss the chatter online about her work with male directors, palming it off as 'Film Twitter' losing it over something small (hey, they're prone to doing that). But this is part of a larger conversation.

I love Emma Stone. That doesn't make her exempt from criticism. If you're going to stand on stage and declare Hollywood has a problem with female directors, it's not surprising that fans would keep tabs on your own movements.

Successful women — particularly successful white women, who have even more advantages — have a responsibility to uplift others in order to shape the future we all say we want.

As the conversation carries on through awards season, it's clear Kidman is more committed than ever.

You can joke about her work ethic and she'll laugh along, all the while plotting her next move. She's a job-creating, industry-changing force. And I for one applaud that, along with her plethora of blonde wigs she brings to each new role.

This article was previously published in January 2025 and has been updated with new information.

Feature Image: Getty.