Nicole Kidman

• Born: 20 June 1967

Actor

Place of birth: Honolulu, Hawaii

Significance: Nicole Kidman is an Academy Award−winning Australian actor best known for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours (2002) and of Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos (2021).

Background

Nicole Mary Kidman was born in 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Australian parents living abroad in the United States. While in Hawaii, her father, Anthony, worked as a clinical psychologist. Her mother, Janelle, worked as a nursing instructor. With her parents and sister Antonia, Kidman moved to Washington, DC, shortly after her birth, where her father conducted breast cancer research. In 1970 the family moved back to Australia, settling in Sydney.

Kidman took an early interest in acting and performance. She started taking ballet lessons at age four. She also studied mime as a child. Also at age four, she began acting classes at the Australian Theatre for Young People and would later perform there as well. Her talent as an actor led to opportunities to perform at the Phillip Street Theatre in Sydney.

As a young teen, Kidman began in small films and television movies. She dropped out of high school at age sixteen after starring as Helen in the film Bush Christmas (1983). Her first major film appearance, Bush Christmas would become a popular Australian holiday film and help to launch Kidman's acting career. At age nineteen, she was cast in two television miniseries, Vietnam(1987) and Bangkok Hilton(1989). Kidman earned awards from the Australian Film Institute for both performances.

Academy Award−Winning Actor

Kidman's early success in acting continued, and soon she moved on to appearances in major Hollywood films. Her first major film, the thriller Dead Calm (1989), was also the first of many high-suspense dramas for which Kidman would become known. She followed Dead Calm with starring roles in the action thrillers Days of Thunder (1990), and Malice (1991). Kidman's breakout role was as the obsessive television host Suzanne Stone in To Die For(1995), for which Kidman won her first Golden Globe.

In the years after To Die For, Kidman was in high demand as a leading actor, mostly appearing in dramas, thrillers, and romances. She appeared in Batman Forever(1995), and starred as Isabel Archer in The Portrait of a Lady (1996), based on the Henry James novel of the same name.

Kidman costarred with Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut (1999), which was widely publicised as director Stanley Kubrick's final film. The stylised drama was controversial for its explicit nature and gained attention because of Kidman and Cruise's high-profile relationship off-screen.

Kidman won her second Golden Globe for her performance in Baz Lurman's acclaimed musical film Moulin Rouge! (2001). She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Moulin Rouge!, her first nomination from the Academy. The following year, Kidman starred in The Hours (2002), in which she portrayed English writer Virginia Woolf. The role was Kidman's most critically revered performance to date. She won her first Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA Award for the role. Her next major film was Cold Mountain (2003), which she starred in alongside Jude Law and Renee Zellweger. Kidman's work in the film was highly acclaimed and received several award nominations.

In 2010, Kidman launched film production company Blossom Films. She starred in the company's first film, Rabbit Hole (2010). A critical success, her performance in the film earned Kidman her third Academy Award nomination. She made several thrillers in the following years, including Stoker (2013), Before I Go to Sleep (2014) and Strangerland (2015). Aside from her more serious roles, Kidman has also appeared in several movies for younger audiences. She appeared alongside Daniel Craig in The Golden Compassin 2007 and in Paddingtonin 2014. As with The Hours and Fur (2006), in which she played photographer Diane Arbus, Kidman played another historical figure in Grace of Monaco (2014), in which she starred as iconic American actor Grace Kelly. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her supporting role in the 2016 film Lion.

Though Kidman has been mostly known for her film work throughout her career, she made a shift in 2017, when she was cast in the role of Celeste in the HBO television series Big Little Lies. The limited series, which ran for two seasons, ending in 2019, won eight Primetime Emmy Awards, including a best lead actress award for Kidman in 2017. She subsequently appeared in two television miniseries, The Undoing (2020) and Nine Perfect Strangers (2021). Her film work during this period included The Goldfinch (2019), based on the bestseller by Donna Tartt, and Being the Ricardos (2021), in which Kidman played the role of iconic comedian Lucille Ball. For the latter role, Kidman received a Golden Globe Award for best actress.

In addition to serving as executive producer, in July 2023, Kidman joined the cast of Special Ops: Lioness, a Paramount+ television series. In December of that year, she reprised the role of Queen Atlanna in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the sequel to the 2018 film Aquaman. In 2024, Kidman starred in and executive produced the television series Expats.

Advocacy and Philanthropy

For much of her career, Kidman has been a public advocate for women's rights and a contributor to charitable causes. She has been an Australian Ambassador for UNICEF since 1994. She was honoured as a United Nations Citizen of the World in 2004, and in 2006 was appointed a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. She serves as an ambassador for the Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick.

Kidman is a patron of the Australian Theatre for Young People and works to raise money for the Women's Cancer Program at Stanford University. Kidman also works with the Little Tee Campaign for Breast Cancer Care.

Impact

Kidman is an acclaimed actor whose performances have earned more than one hundred international award nominations. She is the first Australian actor to win the Academy Award for best actress. For her contributions to culture and society, Kidman was named a Companion in the Order of Australia in 2006. In 2018, TIME included Kidman on its list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Kidman was ranked as the fourth highest-paid actress in the world by Forbes in 2019. She was also named one of the greatest actors of the 21st century by the New York Times in 2020. Kidman received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2024.

Personal Life

Kidman was married to her first husband, Tom Cruise, from 1991–2001. Together, Kidman and Cruise adopted two children, Connor and Isabella. Following her divorce from Cruise, Kidman married Australian country singer Keith Urban in 2006. She has two daughters with Urban, Faith Margaret and Sunday Rose. Kidman holds dual citizenship in Australia and the United States.

Bibliography

"Nicole Kidman." Nicole Kidman Official Website, https://nicolekidmanofficial.com/. Accessed on 18 June 2024.

Miller, Julie. "Nicole Kidman Is a Movie Star, but She Approaches Roles Like 'I've Just Come Out of Drama School.'" Vanity Fair, 17 Feb. 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/nicole-kidman-2022-hollywood-portfolio. Accessed 18 June 2024.

"Nicole Kidman." Biography.com, 20 Nov. 2015, http://www.biography.com/people/nicole-kidman-9364474. Accessed on 18 June 2024.

"Nicole Kidman." Encyclopaedia Britannica, 16 June 2024,https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicole-Kidman. Accessed on 16 June 2014.

Rhoden-Paul, Andre. "Nicole Kidman Honoured with AFI Life Achievment Award." BBC, 28 Apr. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68915932. Accessed 18 June 2024.

Tylski, Alexandre. Nicole Kidman: The Anatomy of an Actor. Phaidon, 2016.