Nicole (Mary) Kidman (born June 20, 1967) is an Australian actress and singer.
Early life
Kidman is the daughter of Dr Antony David Kidman, and his wife Janelle Ann (nee Glenny). Her father was a cancer research specialist in Washington, D.C; because of which Nicole was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. The family returned to Australia when Nicole was four years old, when Tony Kidman took on a lectureship at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Nicole started taking ballet lessons when she was three, and this led to studies at St. Martin's Youth Theatre in Melbourne, the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney, and then to the Philip Street Theatre, where she majored in voice production and theatre history. She studied at North Sydney Girls' High School, but dropped out when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, as Kidman concentrated on her family responsibilities until her mother's recovery.
Australian credits
Her first appearance on film came in 1983 when, as a 15 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) and Bangkok Hilton (1989). In 1989 she made the film which would gain her notice in the USA: Dead Calm.
Her American debut was in Days of Thunder (1990), a stock-car racing movie opposite Tom Cruise. Although Cruise was married to actress Mimi Rogers at the time, he and Kidman became “an item“. Cruise divorced Rogers and the couple married on Christmas Eve of 1990 in Telluride, Colorado. The couple adopted two children, Isabella and Connor, and lived in Los Angeles, California, Australia, Colorado, and New York.
After ten years, the marriage was dissolved in 2001: there was much media speculation about the reasons for this, but both celebrities maintained their privacy and were guarded in their public comments. One persistent rumour claims however that Kidman's desire to bring up their children Catholic, and her critical views on scientology caused the problems in her marriage with Tom Cruise, who is known to be an outspoken follower of the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard.
Hollywood career
After “Days of Thunder“ she starred with Cruise in Ron Howard's Far and Away (1992). Later she was in Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Stanley Kubrick's final film, when she co-starred with her husband as a married couple for the second time.
1995 was to bring much success. She was featured in the all-star cast of Batman Forever and later that same year she starred in To Die For, earning high praise from critics. Although media speculation thought that she would earn an Academy Award nomination for her performance, it was not to be. She did however win a Golden Globe award.
Kidman's most professionally successful year was 2001, with her Oscar-nominated performance in Moulin Rouge! and well-received star turn in a horror film, The Others. While in Australia filming Moulin Rouge!, Kidman injured her knee, so Jodie Foster had to replace her in Panic Room.
In the same year she took a hand at production for the film In the Cut.
In 2004, Kidman appeared in the remake of The Stepford Wives alongside Glenn Close, Faith Hill and Bette Midler. In September of the same year, Kidman's film Birth in which the 37 year-old actress' character falls in love with a 10 year-old boy (played by Cameron Bright), who she believed to be a reincarnation of her dead husband, was badly received. Despite the poor reception, the film was nominated for the prestigious Golden Lion Award . The film had received a much better reception when shown previous to release at Cannes.
Awards
Film awards
She won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours: for the same film she won a BAFTA award.
Other awards
Apart from being an outstanding actress, Nicole is an inspirational role model. Nicole publicly supports a variety of charities and causes. She has been a high profile Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF Australia since 1994. Her outstanding work helps raise money for and draw attention to the plight of and the most disadvantaged children in Australia and around the world. Nicole's charity work is so highly regarded that in (2004) she was honoured as a 'Citizen of the World' by the United Nations.
Nicole Kidman was selected as the New South Wales Australian of the Year 2005 for her success as an actress, contribution to helping those less fortunate than herself, and because she inspires other Australians to achieve their dreams. In 2005 she visited the tsunami-hit regions of SE Asia.
Singing
Not known as a singer prior to Moulin Rouge!, Kidman surprised critics and fans with her charming singing voice in the film. Her collaboration with Ewan McGregor on the song Come What May, from the film's soundtrack debuted and peaked at #27 on 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 (debuting and peaking at #8 in the Australian ARIAnet Singles Chart, and at #1 for three weeks in the UK, also becoming the UK Christmas #1 Single for 2001).
Future movies
Emma's War, Fur, American Darlings, The Interpreter, Wedding Season, Bewitched (a remake of the 1960's classic sitcom co-starring Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine, and Michael Caine), and the Australian movie "Eucalpytus" also starring Russell Crowe are future movies for Kidman. Kidman was cast in The Producers however has had to pull out due to filming "Eucalpytus" in Australia, Kidmans first native film since Moulin Rouge!.
Other notes
- As Kidman was born in Hawaii, she is an American citizen by birth. She has dual nationality and carries both Australian and U.S. passports.
- Kidman's sister Antonia is an entertainment reporter for an Australian television program, and also has her own very successful parenting program title 'The Little Things' set to be syndicated around the world.
- Kidman is also a well renowned fashion paradigm and a frequent "Best Dressed" staple.
- In August 2004, the Australian magazine BRW listed Kidman as the richest Australian woman under the age of 40, with an estimated worth of 155 million A$ (Australian dollars), or $107 million in United States dollars.
- In January 2005, Kidman won interim restraining orders against two Sydney-based paparazzi photographers.
Filmography
Discography
External links
Factual
A few of the many fanzine-type articles
