NICOLE KIDMAN was her own worst enemy as a young woman, the actress admitted this week, but after realising that she was holding herself back, she took steps to correct the problem."I was a living metaphor for what had always held women back," she said of growing up as a 5ft 11in teenager, The Cut reports.

 "I was afraid of my own power, afraid that it would threaten people, intimidate people. And it's a great sadness, wishing to be less than you actually are. It's hard to take on the world when you're constantly in a battle with yourself. I worked through it. I'm working through it."Kidman spoke as she accepted an award for Excellence in Film at the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards, an event known for its inspirational and rallying speeches.

"Women are too susceptible to the voice that tells us we need to be accepted ... Men say, 'I want this.' And then they set out to do it. Women say: 'Do I want this? Don't I want this? Do I deserve this? Can I get this? Hmm, what do you think?' And framing things this way leads women to second-guess our decisions, to ignore our own confidence, to revert to a place that we think is safe, acceptable. I don't regret much. I try not to live that way, but the regrets that I do have, all go back to the decisions that I've made out of fear. Not a fear of my own weakness, but of my own power."

Story by Lauren Milligan writing for Vogue Fashion News.