The announcement that Nicole Kidman will serve as a co-chair role for the Met Gala 2026 signals a high-profile reunion for fashion’s most photographed evening. She shares the chair responsibilities with Beyoncé, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, and the event is scheduled for Monday, May 4 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This marks Kidman’s return to a leadership position at the gala after more than twenty years: she previously held that role in 2003 and 2005. The presence of her daughter Sunday on the guest list has been confirmed, underscoring a family connection that complements her onstage and red-carpet persona.
Outside the event itself, Kidman’s family details have drawn attention alongside her professional role: she shares daughters Sunday and Faith with ex-husband Keith Urban, and she has two additional children from her earlier marriage to Tom Cruise. Sunday, who is reported to be 17, already shows interest in fashion and modeling, having made a runway debut for Miu Miu during the Paris Fashion Week presentation of spring/summer 2026 (the show took place in October 2026), and she has since walked a Dior show as well. Kidman has mentioned that Sunday will be present during the gala evening.
A career of memorable Met Gala moments
Kidman’s red-carpet record at the Met Gala reads like a timeline of major fashion houses and cinematic style. She debuted at the gala in 2003 in a Tom Ford–era Gucci gown encrusted with crystals; she returned as a co-chair in 2005 wearing a strapless navy Chanel dress accented with black beading for that evening’s tribute. After a period away, she reappeared in a caped Alexander McQueen look at the 2016 gala, and in 2026 chose to revisit a pink silk-tulle Chanel gown previously seen in a 2004 Chanel No. 5 commercial directed by Baz Luhrmann. In the most recent edition she attended, she arrived in a re-creation of a 1950s couture Balenciaga gown styled by her longtime collaborator Julia von Boehm. These choices reflect a pattern of revisiting iconic looks and designers while engaging the evening’s theme.
Theme and exhibition: what “Fashion Is Art” will explore
The 2026 dress code is centered on Fashion Is Art, aligning with the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition titled Costume Art, which was announced on November 17, 2026. The show will open in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries, a near-12,000-square-foot space on the museum’s campus, and it pairs garments with objects from the Met’s collection spanning roughly 5,000 years. Curators have organized pieces into a series of thematic body types — categories such as the Naked Body, Classical Body, the Pregnant Body, and the Aging Body — in order to consider how dress and the depiction of the body interact across eras and cultures. The exhibition sets the conceptual backdrop for attendees’ wardrobe choices and the evening’s conversations.
How the theme shapes the gala experience
On the night, guests will interpret Fashion Is Art in widely varied ways while following the museum’s event customs. The Met enforces a strict no-phone policy once attendees enter the galleries, and the evening typically unfolds with cocktails, dinner, and high-profile performances. In recent years the gala’s production design has become part of the spectacle—past installations included monumental floral sculptures and ceiling projections—so décor choices often mirror curatorial intent. Attendance historically hovers around 450 attendees, and in 2026 the gala recorded its largest single-year gross in the institution’s long history, raising approximately $31 million. Those financial stakes underline the event’s role as a major fundraiser for the Costume Institute.
Practical details: livestreams, hosts, and how to watch
If you’re not on the steps of the Met, official coverage is available online: Vogue will stream the event exclusively across its digital platforms, with distribution to YouTube and TikTok as part of its broadcast plan. Reports indicate different start times for various regions—the red carpet has been scheduled by some outlets for 11:00 pm BST, while Vogue’s platform is set to begin coverage at 6:00 pm EDT / 3:00 pm PST. The livestream talent roster includes Ashley Graham, La La Anthony, and Cara Delevingne, with Emma Chamberlain returning as a red-carpet correspondent; production partners named for the broadcast include Full Day Productions, Feed the Animals, and Dream Machine, with director Micah Bickham attached to the project.
Who’s on the guest and hosting lists
Alongside the four principal co-chairs — Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour — the gala will involve an expanded host committee comprising designers, artists, performers, and cultural figures. Named committee co-chairs include Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz, and the wider roster features a mix of actors, athletes, and creatives; as lead sponsors, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are listed as honorary chairs. The night remains one of fashion’s most closely watched intersections of art, celebrity, and fundraising, and the livestream offers an accessible way to follow how attendees translate the Fashion Is Art premise into clothing, conversation, and spectacle.