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Nicole Mary Kidman, (born 20 June 1967) is an Academy Award-winning Australian American actress. In 2006, she became one of the highest-paid actresses in the motion picture industry. In the same year, Kidman was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, Australia's highest civilian honor. She is officially Australia's most successful actress. A promising debut as a teen actress in her native Australia lead Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman to Hollywood in the early 1990s, where she quickly established herself as an engaging female lead in several major films. Her popularity, however, was largely due to a high-profile marriage to mega-star Tom Cruise, which put her front and center in a paparazzi hurricane that obscured her own talents for nearly a decade. After their high-profile divorce in 2001, Kidman defied critics and naysayers with a string of dazzling performances in almost every genre of film – from high drama like her Oscar-winning work in "The Hours" (2002), to historical epics like "Cold Mountain," (2003) to even musicals, in which she dazzled moviegoers with her impressive pipes in "Moulin Rouge" (2001). She even nailed comedy roles, like her modern-day Samantha in "Bewitched" (2005) and, even more memorably, as the over-the-top wannabe weather girl in the black comedy, "To Die For" (1995). In fact, due in large part to her incredible reinvention and acting versatility – to say nothing of her fashion reign as queen of the red carpet – by 2007, she had succeeded in completely erasing her previous identity as Mrs. Tom Cruise by becoming the highest paid actress in the film industry, as well as a much sought-after spokesperson for high fashion commercials and print work. After making various appearances in film and television, Kidman received her breakthrough role in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm. Her performances in several films, such as To Die For (1995), Moulin Rouge! (2001), and The Hours (2002), have won her much critical acclaim.. In 2003, Kidman received her Star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California. Kidman is also a UNIFEM and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and a singer. She is also well-known for her former marriage to the actor Tom Cruise and as her current marriage to the noted country musician Keith Urban. Because she was born to Australian parents in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A., Nicole Kidman has dual citizenship of Australia and the United States of America. Kidman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1967. Her mother, Janelle Ann Glenny Kidman, is a nursing instructor who also edits her husband's books and who was a member of the Women's Electoral Lobby. Her father, Dr. Antony David Kidman, is a biochemist and clinical psychologist with an office in Lane Cove, New South Wales. At the time of Nicole Kidman's birth, her father was a visiting fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health of the United States. The family returned to Australia permanently when Kidman was four years old and Kidman's parents now reside on Sydney's North Shore. Kidman has a younger sister, Antonia Kidman who is a journalist. A dual citizen of Australia and the United States – she was born on June 20, 1967 to Australian parents in Hawaii – Kidman spent her earliest years in Washington, D.C. before returning to Australia, where her father maintained a career as a biochemist and psychologist and her mother was a nursing instructor. Her performing career got an early start with ballet training at three and showed a natural talent for acting in her primary and high school years. In 1983, she debuted in the Australian kids’ action-comedy, “BMX Bandits;” she soon made for an engaging juvenile lead in the popular holiday feature “Bush Christmas” (1983) and 12 episodes of the family series “Five Mile Creek” (7 Network, 1983-85). In 1984, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, which caused her to temporarily halt her higher education and help provide for the family by working as a massage therapist at age 17. After her mother’s recovery, Kidman again pursued acting at Sydney’s Australian Theatre for Young People. Kidman attended Lane Cove Public School in her primary school years, and then she attended the North Sydney Girls' High School - along with her friend Naomi Watts. She then studied at the Phillip Street Theater in Sydney. This was followed by studies at the Australian Theatre for Young People. By the mid-1980s, the pale-skinned redhead with the china doll face was a regular on Australian television, with notable appearances in several series and TV-movies, including the girlfriend of a conscientious objector in the 1987 miniseries “Vietnam” (which began a series of collaborations with director John Duigan) and an alluring script girl in the comedy “Emerald City” (1988), which earned her a nomination from the Australian Film Institute. The following year proved to be a watershed for Kidman; she starred as a young Englishwoman sentenced to death for smuggling drugs in the acclaimed Australian miniseries “Bangkok Hilton” (1989); even more importantly, she garnered international acclaim in Phillip Noyce’s tense thriller “Dead Calm,” about a couple (Kidman and Sam Neill) who unknowingly rescue a shipwrecked psychopath (Billy Zane) who then torment them. After critics singled out Kidman’s performance as the determined wife, Hollywood soon called for her talents. And at the forefront of that rush to sweep her up and bring her to the States was Hollywood’s then biggest star – Tom Cruise – who had first noticed her in “Dead Calm” and insisted she be his next leading lady. Despite the fact that she was a relative nobody in the States and did not represent the typical bombshell leading lady of the day, Cruise got what he wanted. Kidman's first appearance in film came in 1983 when, as a fifteen year-old, she appeared in the Pat Wilson music video for the song Bop Girl. By the end of the year she had secured a supporting role in the television series Five Mile Creek and four film roles, including BMX Bandits and Bush Christmas. During the 1980s, she appeared in several Australian movies and TV series, notably including the soap opera A Country Practice, the mini-series Vietnam (1986), Emerald City (1988), and Bangkok Hilton (1989). Originally, in 1985, she starred in the musical production of The Court Jester as Princess Poppyskins. She was then known throughout the tri-state area. In 1989, Kidman starred in Dead Calm as Rae Ingram, the wife of naval officer John Ingram (Sam Neill), held captive on a Pacific Ocean yacht trip by the psychotic Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane). The thriller film garnered strong reviews; the staff of Variety.com commented: "Throughout the film, Kidman is excellent. She gives the character of Rae real tenacity and energy." Meanwhile, critic Roger Ebert noted the excellent chemistry between the leads, stating, "...Kidman and Zane do generate real, palpable hatred in their scenes together.", Her first American feature, Tony Scott’s “Days of Thunder” (1990), was a crass and over-amped NASCAR drama that gave her little to do than trade overwrought glances with her new benefactor, Tom Cruise. She returned briefly to John Duigan and Australia for “Flirting” (1991), his sequel to his charming coming-of-age movie “The Year My Voice Broke” (1987) in which she co-starred as a repressed student at a girls’ boarding school. Also included in the cast was beautiful blonde actress Naomi Watts, with whom Kidman would remain a close friend after the two had met at an audition years before. Critics applauded her turn as a seductive moll to gangster Dutch Schultz in “Billy Bathgate” -- even earning a Golden Globe nomination for her performance (which included her first on-screen nude scene) – but audiences and fans of the original E.L. Doctorow novel stayed away in droves. Her next few years were marked by mediocre projects and occasional box office success, including Ron Howard’s overblown historical epic “Far and Away” (1992) with then husband Cruise, the medical thriller “Malice” (1993) opposite Alec Baldwin, the dreary melodrama “My Life” (1993) with Michael Keaton, and perhaps worst of all, Joel Schumacher’s laughable “Batman Forever” (1995), with Val Kilmer as the Caped Crusader, Jim Carrey as The Riddler, and Kidman as a psychiatrist and love interest. Few could deny however, that no matter how bad the latter film, Kidman’s softened fiery mane and glamour-girl makeup showed a beautiful new side – even a sexy side – to the actress. In 1990, she appeared opposite Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder, a stock car racing movie. After this, Kidman starred with Cruise in Ron Howard's Far and Away (1992). In 1995, Kidman featured in the ensemble cast of Batman Forever. On November 20, 1993 she hosted Saturday Night Live. Kidman found more rewarding work in independent features, starting with Gus Van Sant’s black comedy “To Die For,” which earned her a Golden Globe nomination (and revived her standing in the eyes of critics) as a dense but ruthless weather girl who gains the national attention she craved by pressing a high schooler (Joaquin Phoenix) into murdering her husband (Matt Dillon). Her kinetic performance was so wacky and histrionic, that she was mesmerizing in a way she had never been before on screen. It was, in fact, this role in “To Die For” which truly made not only the Hollywood community – but moviegoers in general – perk up and notice her apart from her famous husband. Energized by the critical and popular acceptance, she then partnered with Jane Campion for a well-regarded adaptation of Henry James’ “Portrait of a Lady” (1996), which saw her make significant changes to her appearance, including the donning of a corset to bring her waistline down to 19th-century proportions. “The Peacemaker” (1997), with George Clooney, and the supernatural comedy “Practical Magic” (1998) with Sandra Bullock, were agreeable, if easily forgettable, time wasters, but Kidman closed out the century by co-starring with Cruise in “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999), the final film effort by legendary director Stanley Kubrick. Her second film in 1995, To Die For was a satirical comedy that earned her praise from critics. She won a Golden Globe Award, and five other best actress awards for her portrayal of the murderous newscaster Suzanne Stone Maretto. Kidman and Cruise portrayed a married couple in Eyes Wide Shut in 1999, Stanley Kubrick's final film. In 2002, Kidman received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the 2001 musical film Moulin Rouge!, in which she played the courtesan Satine opposite Ewan McGregor. Consequently, Kidman received her second Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The same year, she had a well-received starring role in the horror film The Others. While in Australia filming Moulin Rouge!, Kidman injured her knee; as a result, Jodie Foster accepted to replace her as leading actress in the film Panic Room. In that film, Kidman's voice appears on the phone, as the mistress of the lead character's husband. The following year, Kidman won critical praise for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours, in which the prosthetics applied to her made her almost unrecognizable. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this role, along with a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and numerous critics awards. Kidman became the first Australian actress to win an Academy Award. During her Academy Award acceptance speech, after tearing, Kidman made a statement about the importance of art, even during times of war: "Why do you come to the Academy Awards when the world is in such turmoil? Because art is important. And because you believe in what you do and you want to honor that, and it is a tradition that needs to be upheld." Kidman bounced back from this unfortunate turn of events – all of which went down during the publicity tours for her next film – the dazzling “Moulin Rouge” (2001), director Baz Luhrmann’s visually stunning, post-modern musical about the doomed romance between a writer (Ewan McGregor) and a dancehall singer and courtesan (Kidman). Moviegoers swooned over the old-fashioned romance and musical numbers – something not seen or really accepted en mass on screen for many years. Even critics were wowed by Kidman’s vocal skills; her duet with McGregor – the sweeping “Come What May” – was a massive hit in her native Australia and placed highly on numerous international charts, leading to a subsequent duet with UK pop sensation Robbie Williams on a cover of “Somethin’ Stupid,” from his 2001 album Swing When You’re Winning. For her efforts, Kidman landed her first Oscar nomination and took home a Golden Globe. “Moulin Rouge” truly marked the beginning of Kidman’s career as a top box office draw. She followed the musical with a dramatic about-face as a terrified mother trapped in her own home by mysterious figures in Alejandro Amenabar’s marvelous ghost story, “The Others” (2001), before returning to indie fare with the quirky thriller “Birthday Girl” (2002), in which she played a Russian mail order bride who makes trouble for her new husband (Ben Chaplin). That same year, Kidman buried her looks under layers of makeup to play the troubled author Virginia Woolf, whose life and work provides a link for women in the 1950s and the modern day in Stephen Daldry’s acclaimed, “The Hours” (2002). An unrecognizable Kidman triumphed in the role, bringing home an Oscar for her intense performance – something her ex-husband had yet to win – as well as a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. The following year, she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was honored by the American Cinematheque. Also in 2002, Kidman starred in the stage play "The Blue Room," which opened in New York and London. The play was a stellar success, with Kidman's character briefly exposing her flesh to the audience and very famous persons competing for the best seats in the house. In the same year, Kidman starred in three very different films. Dogville, by Danish director Lars von Trier, an experimental film set on a bare soundstage. Secondly, she co-starred alongside Anthony Hopkins in the film adaptation of Philip Roth's novel The Human Stain. Cold Mountain, a love story of two Southerners separated by the Civil War, was her final release that year, and garnered her a Golden Globe Award nomination. In 2004, Kidman appeared in the critically panned remake of The Stepford Wives alongside Glenn Close, Faith Hill and Bette Midler. In September of the same year, Birth, in which the 37-year-old actress' character has an encounter with a 10-year-old boy (played by Cameron Bright) who attempts to convince her that he is a reincarnation of her dead husband, was met with a mixed reception primarily due to a scene where the boy strips and joins Kidman in the bathtub. Despite this, the film was nominated for the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, and Kidman was nominated for another Golden Globe Award. Kidman's two movies in 2005 were The Interpreter, directed by Sydney Pollack, the film received mixed reviews, though it did become a considerable success at the box office grossing nearly $165 million worldwide, with its $80 million budget, and Bewitched, co-starring Will Ferrell, based on the 1960s TV sitcom of the same name; the latter fared abysmally with critics and made only $131,413,159 at the box office. In conjunction with her success in the film industry, Kidman became the face of the Chanel No. 5 perfume brand. She starred in a campaign of television and print ads with Rodrigo Santoro, directed by Moulin Rouge! director Baz Luhrmann to promote the fragrance during the holiday season in 2004, 2005, and 2006. The three-minute commercial produced for Chanel No. 5 perfume made Kidman the record holder for the most money paid per minute to an actor after she reportedly earned $US3.71 million. During this time, Kidman was also listed as the 45th Most Powerful Celebrity on the 2005 Forbes Celebrity 100 List. She made a reported US$14.5 million in 2004-2005. On People magazine's list of 2005's highest paid actresses, Kidman was second behind Julia Roberts with a US$16 million to US$17 million per-film price tag. She has since passed Roberts as the highest paid actress. Recently, Kidman appeared in the Diane Arbus bio-pic Fur, she also lent her voice to the animated film Happy Feet, which quickly garnered critical and commercial success, the film grossed over $384 million dollars worldwide. In 2007, she starred in the science fiction movie The Invasion, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, and played opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black in Noah Baumbach's comedy-drama Margot at the Wedding. She also starred in the film adaptation of the first part of the planned His Dark Materials trilogy of films, playing the villainous Mrs. Coulter. However, The Golden Compass''s failure to meet expectations at the North American box office has reduced the likelihood of a sequel. Kidman returned to arthouses with the comedy-drama “Margot at the Wedding” (2007) by “Squid and the Whale” (2005) director and screenwriter Noah Baumbach. In this film, Kidman was in familiar territory as a neurotic writer who clashes with her sister (Jennifer Jason Leigh) over her choice of fiancée (Jack Black). She then shifted gears to play a villainess (her first in her career) in the epic fantasy “The Golden Compass” (2007), an elaborate adaptation of Philip Pullman’s The Northern Lights, the first novel in the massively popular His Dark Materials trilogy. She is also set to star in director Wong Kar-wai's next film, The Lady from Shanghai and Baz Luhrmann's Australian period film titled Australia, which is set in the remote Northern Territory during the Japanese attack on Darwin during World War II. Kidman will play an English woman feeling overwhelmed by the continent, opposite Hugh Jackman. On 25 June 2007, Nintendo announced that Kidman is to be the new face of Nintendo's advertising campaign for the Nintendo DS game More Brain Training in its European market. Kidman was featured in a series of advertisements for Sky in Italy, speaking Italian during the spots. It is reported that Kidman will star and produce in an upcoming romantic comedy film called Monte Carlo. She plays one member of a trio of school teachers on holiday who cut short their no-frills sojourn in Paris and head to Monte Carlo, where they pose as wealthy vacationers. Kidman was originally set to star in The Reader (film) a post-war Germany drama, but due to her pregnancy she had to back out of the film. Shortly after the news of Kidman's departure, it was announced that Kate Winslet would take over the role. Not known as a singer prior to Moulin Rouge!, Kidman had several well-received vocal performances in the film. Her collaboration with Ewan McGregor on the song "Come What May" from the film's soundtrack debuted and peaked at 27 in the UK Singles Chart. Later she collaborated with Robbie Williams on the song "Somethin' Stupid", a cover of the old swing song on Williams' swing covers album Swing When You're Winning. It debuted and peaked at 8 in the Australian ARIAnet Singles Chart, and at number 1 for three weeks in the UK. It was the UK Christmas number 1 Single for 2001. In 2006, she provided her voice for the animated movie Happy Feet, along with her vocals for her character Norma Jean's 'heartsong', which was a slightly altered version of "Kiss" by Prince. Kidman met Tom Cruise on the set of their 1990 movie, Days of Thunder. Cruise was married to actress Mimi Rogers at the time, and later divorced her. Kidman and Cruise were married on Christmas Eve 1990 in Telluride, Colorado. The couple adopted two children, daughter Isabella Jane Kidman-Cruise (b. December 22, 1992) and son Connor Anthony Kidman-Cruise (b. January 17, 1995). They separated just after their 10th wedding anniversary. At the time she was 3 months pregnant and subsequently had a miscarriage. Tom Cruise filed for divorce in February 2001. The marriage was dissolved in 2001, with Cruise citing irreconcilable differences as the cause of the divorce. The reasons for the dissolution have never been made public. Also, in an interview for Marie Claire magazine, Kidman mentions that she had an ectopic pregnancy early in their marriage. In an interview in the June 2006 issue of Ladies' Home Journal, Kidman reported that she still loved Tom Cruise. Kidman told the magazine: "He was huge; still is. To me, he was just Tom, but to everybody else, he is huge. But he was lovely to me. And I loved him. I still love him." In addition, she has expressed shock about their divorce. The 2003 film Cold Mountain was plagued by rumours that an on-set affair between Kidman and co-star Jude Law was responsible for the breakup of his marriage. Both vehemently denied the allegations, and Kidman eventually won an undisclosed sum from the British tabloids that published the story. She donated the money to a Romanian orphanage in the town where the movie was filmed. Robbie Williams confirmed that they had short 'romance' on her yacht in summer 2004. Even though Kidman and Carey were spotted at restaurants together for two years they both denied it, explaining they were just good friends. Shortly after her Oscar win, there were unconfirmed rumours of a relationship between her and fellow Oscar winner Adrien Brody. She met musician Lenny Kravitz in 2003 and dated him into 2004. Nicole has recently revealed in an interview she was secretly engaged when her divorce from Tom Cruise was legalised and before she met Keith Urban. She declined to reveal who her fiance was, but considering Kravitz was her only major relationship between her two husbands, one could assume it was him. Kidman met country singer Keith Urban at G'Day LA, an event honouring Australians in January 2005. Kidman and Urban were married on Sunday June 25, 2006, at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel in the grounds of St Patrick's Estate, Manly in Sydney. They maintain homes in Sydney, Los Angeles and Nashville, Tennessee. In March 2008, they purchased mansions in both Los Angeles and Nashville within the span of a few days. After constant speculation by the press, on January 8, 2008, it was confirmed that Kidman is 3 months pregnant and that Kidman and Urban are expecting their first child together. She is reported to be due in July. Kidman was raised a Roman Catholic and currently is a practicing Catholic. She attended Mary Mackillop Chapel in North Sydney. However, during her marriage to Tom Cruise, she was reported to be a rather "half-hearted" follower of Scientology. Kidman's name was included in an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times (August 17, 2006) that condemned organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, and supported Israel's efforts in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. Kidman has made numerous donations to U.S. Democratic party candidates and endorsed John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. Kidman publicly supports a variety of charities and causes. She has been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF Australia since 1994. She has worked to help raise money for and draw attention to the plight of the most disadvantaged children in Australia and around the world. In 2004, she was honoured as a "Citizen of the World" by the United Nations. On January 26, 2006, Kidman received Australia's highest civilian honour when she was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, for "service to the performing arts as an acclaimed motion picture performer, to health care through contributions to improve medical treatment for women and children and advocacy for cancer research, to youth as a principal supporter of young performing artists, and to humanitarian causes in Australia and internationally." However, due to film commitments and her wedding to Urban, it wasn't until 13 April 2007 that she was presented with the honour. She was also nominated goodwill ambassador for UNIFEM. Kidman joined the 'Little Tee Campaign' for Breast Cancer Care to design T-shirts or vests to raise money for breast cancer. Kidman's mother, Janelle, is a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed in 1984. |
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