On Friday, September 19, Nicole Kidman said her final goodbyes to her father Antony, who passed away from a suspected heart attack on September 12 while on a vacation to The Tanglin Club in Singapore.
Antony’s funeral was held at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in the Sydney suburb of Lavender Bay, where Kidman gave an emotional eulogy about her father.
“I am Nicole Mary Kidman, the oldest daughter of my father,” she said, according to the Daily Telegraph.
“I am able to stand here as one of the lucky ones in this world,” she continued, teary eyed. “I am a girl, a woman, who was raised by an extraordinary man. He was a good man, a compassionate man, a strong man a man that was always there for me. He was my thinker, confidant, my friend and my protector. I had a great, great father and in the true sense of the word, he was a gentleman.”
Nicole Kidman looked back on how her dad helped her through her divorce from Tom Cruise in her eulogy at his funeral: http://t.co/On22Fup1B3
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) September 19, 2014
Kidman also took the time to recall the last time she saw her father- three weeks before his death in New York. “I am so grateful that he came to New York. And I am so grateful to be his daughter and that he chosen my mother to make me,” she said. “The only regret my dad would have now is that he is not here to see his beautiful grandchildren grow up and he is not here to take care of her [Janelle]. That’s all he ever cared about.”
Our thoughts are with @KeithUrban and Nicole Kidman, who today attended the funeral of Nicole's father. http://t.co/L3vc1ZgpnI
— Cody Alan (@cmtcody) September 19, 2014
Nicole’s husband, country music superstar Keith Urban, was there to comfort his wife, and even performed an acoustic version of Amazing Grace. “Keith was amazing, he organized everything on the day with [Nicole’s sister] Antonia’s husband, Craig,” a friend close to the family said. “The whole day was a celebration of Antony and an incredible tribute to his amazing life.”