Nicole Kidman testified Monday in a Sydney courtroom about an incident that occurred more than two years ago when, pursued by a celebrity photographer, she feared for her own life.

The actress was present Monday at the New South Wales state Supreme Court, where she testified that celebrity photographer Jamie Fawcett followed her around insistently two years ago, to the point of frightening her that a car accident would occur.

Kidman was called to testify as part of the photog’s defamation suit against a Sydney newspaper that criticized him harshly for allegedly hounding the actress.

Fawcett, who is well known as a celebrity photographer in Sydney, according to the Associated Press, is suing The Sun-Herald newspaper for defamation over a certain article the paper published, in which Fawcett was described as Sydney's most disliked freelance photographer. He was also accused of wishing to “wreak havoc” on Kidman's private life.

The AP reports that a jury has already found that the article defamed Fawcett. The current hearing is to decide whether the newspaper's publisher, Fairfax Media, should pay the photographer damages.

Kidman described three situations when Fawcett followed her around aggressively. The incident when she feared for her own life happened in January 2005, as she drove from her house in Sydney to her parents’ home. Fawcett and his assistant allegedly tailed her in separate cars. “I was frightened and I was worried there was going to be an accident,” Kidman said, as quoted by the AP.

The actress added she was “really, really scared” during the car ride and that by the time she reached her parents’ home, she was “in tears and distressed.”

She described two other occasions when the paparazzo pursued her: once while she was on her honeymoon with country singer Keith Urban in Tahiti in 2006, and once after Christmas in Sydney last year, reports the AP.

The Academy Award winner also said that because of Fawcett, she now employs full-time security guards. “I employ people to protect me now. I employ people 24 hours to protect myself because I don't feel equipped to handle things,” she said.