Nicole Kidman claims she wasn't recognized in public until 'Big Little Lies'

Nicole Kidman has been a household name for nearly three decades now, but the actress recently claimed that it wasn't until she starred in HBO's miniseries Big Little Lies that she began being recognized in public.

Kidman made the surprising statement on Ellen earlier this week when speaking about the runaway success of the show, which also stars Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley. "It just really started to snowball, and the great thing was because it was on HBO, everyone had to wait each week to see the next ep," Kidman told Ellen DeGeneres. "Then I was suddenly being recognized in airports and airplanes, and women were coming up to me in the street and talking about the character and what was going to happen next."

See photos of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban at the 2017 Oscars

Hold up—suddenly being recognized? The claim sounds bizarre, especially considering that Kidman has been an A-list celebrity for some 30 years. She's won an Academy Award, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and has appeared in countless box-office successes. (Most recently Kidman appeared in the awards-season darling Lion.) Not to mention she's been in not one but two high-profile marriages: Her first husband was Tom Cruise, and she's currently married to country star Keith Urban. Then there is also the issue that Kidman wore a long red wig with heavy bangs to play Celeste in Big Little Lies, making her more unrecognizable if anything. We're not taking away from the show's popularity (we were obsessed too—and are hoping for a season two), but something sounds off about Kidman's statement.

DeGeneres apparently shared our sentiment. "What do you mean you suddenly got recognized?" she asked.

"I haven't had a film that's really kind of penetrated into the psyche of the world for a long time," Kidman explained.

That makes a bit more sense: Kidman's portrayal of Celeste, a wife in a physically and emotionally abusive marriage, was incredibly raw and powerful. But we still think we would have noticed her had we ever run into her in public before her Big Little Lies performance.

Watch, here.