Nicole Kidman
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Kidman is reportedly descended from a famous Australian clan headed by the late cattle baron, Sir Sydney Kidman, who had vast land and livestock holdings in Australia.
Kidman was voted Best Actress of the Year for "Vietnam" in a poll of the Australian public.
Biography
Australian actress Nicole Kidman consistently defied expectations throughout her career. Initially cast as the next big thing, she later enjoyed the double-edged honor of being known as Mrs. Tom Cruise, only to eventually be recognized as one of cinema's most powerful dramatic actresses. After garnering international acclaim for her role in the Australian thriller "Dead Calm" (1989), Kidman made her American debut in the Tom Cruise actioner "Days of Thunder" (1990). Although Kidman impressed with her performances in such films as "To Die For" (1995) and "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996), she could not quite escape the considerable shadow cast by her megastar husband. Kidman took a brief hiatus after her work in Stanley Kubrick's final film "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999) and her much publicized divorce from Cruise, only to return triumphant in director Baz Luhrmann's musical extravaganza "Moulin Rouge" (2001). From there it was on to a string of universally acclaimed performances in films that included "The Others" (2001), "The Hours" (2002) - for which she won a Best Actress Oscar - "Dogville" (2003), and "Cold Mountain" (2003). Following a period of inconsistent project choices, Kidman proved that she was still at the top of her game with her portrayal of a grieving mother in "Rabbit Hole" (2010), followed by solid work in films as varied as the family comedy "Paddington" (2014), Werner Herzog's biographical epic "Queen of the Desert" (2015) and Garth Davis' family drama "Lion" (2016), for which she scored a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. She also made the move to American television as one of the stars of dramatic miniseries "Big Little Lies" (HBO 2017). Ultimately, Kidman succeeded in reinventing herself like few actresses had, starting out as a fashionable wife to the world's biggest movie star, only to wind up a respected actress in her own right, who continued to fascinate the public year after year.
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.
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.
Unfortunately, the American movie industry proved to be an awkward match for Kidman. 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 onscreen 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 sexy new side to the actress.
No matter what quality work Kidman was racking up though, however, the most notable aspect of her Hollywood tenure in those days was her relationship with Cruise, which blossomed on the set of "Days of Thunder." By the time of the movie's release in 1990, the pair had married; by 1992, they had adopted a daughter, Isabella, and in 1995, a son, Connor, followed. Due to Cruise's stratospheric profile in the film industry, Kidman was soon a regular feature in magazines and tabloids, which frequently questioned her position on his well-publicized relationship with the Church of Scientology, as well as his sexual orientation. Regardless of the speculation, the couple enjoyed a lengthy and seemingly happy relationship for the remainder of the decade and well into the early 2000s. There was no denying that had she not had the world's biggest movie star on her arm, Kidman's talent - no matter how impressive - would not have fast-tracked like it did throughout the 1990s as the taller half of the most famous couple in the world.
Meanwhile, 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 win (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. Unfortunately, the project generated more controversy for Cruise and Kidman's uncomfortable-to-watch awkward love scenes, following a tabloid allegation that the pair needed a "coach" to instruct them on convincing love-making following the release of the film. Not surprisingly, the litigious couple - more Cruise than Kidman - later sued for defamation and won. Not helping matters was an explicit orgy sequence that was clumsily edited for American audiences by Warner Bros. after Kubrick suddenly passed away after the film was in the can.
The media scrutiny surrounding Kidman and Cruise intensified even further when the couple separated in 2000 shortly before their tenth wedding anniversary. No cause aside from irreconcilable differences was given, though the press reported that Kidman was three months pregnant at the time of the separation and subsequently suffered a miscarriage. Other reports said the miscarriage preceded the divorce announcement, with Cruise filing in 2001, with his only public comment being the mysterious and often pondered, "Nic knows what she did." The marriage was dissolved in that same year, leaving Kidman seemingly devastated - particularly when the actor took up with yet another unknown star in his current film "Vanilla Sky" (2001) - Penelope Cruz. In interviews several years after their union came to an end, Kidman remarked that she bore Cruise no ill feelings, and still felt love for her former husband - but also remarked humorously at the time, that the one good thing about the marriage dissolution was that she could "finally wear heels again."
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.
Kidman branched into producing with "In the Cut" (2003), Jane Campion's sexually charged thriller with Meg Ryan as a writing professor who has an affair with a cop investigating murders in her neighborhood. She also kept a hand in indie-minded fare by starring in Lars von Trier's controversial experimental drama "Dogville" (2003), as a gangster's moll who endures tremendous cruelty at the hands of the population of a small town; as well as a troubled cleaning woman who enters into an affair with a married college professor (Anthony Hopkins) in Robert Benton's poorly received adaptation of Philip Roth's "The Human Stain" (2003). That same year, she finally scored with the epic Civil War romance "Cold Mountain," which brought her another Golden Globe nod. The latter picture also brought her back to the tabloid pages with reports that she had indulged in an affair with her co-star, Jude Law, but Kidman fought back and won undisclosed damages from the UK paper that printed the rumor. However, Kidman did date rocker Lenny Kravitz during this period as well. It seemed to readers and fans that Kidman - as big a star as her ex - was finally enjoying the fruits of her labor - dating desirable men, being the go-to clotheshorse for top designers and having her pick of any parts in town.
From 2004 to 2006, Kidman's output varied wildly in both content and quality. She suffered through the disastrous remake of "The Stepford Wives" (2004) and her arthouse feature of the period, "Birth" (2004), which raised eyebrows for a scene in which 10-year-old actor Cameron Bright - whose character is believed to be a reincarnated adult - slips naked into a bath with Kidman (who earned a Golden Globe nod for her performance). "The Interpreter" (2005) was a moderately successful thriller by Sydney Pollack about a United Nations interpreter (Kidman) who becomes embroiled in an international assassination plot, while "Bewitched" (2005) was an unnecessarily convoluted adaptation of the classic television series (ABC, 1964-1972) which tanked miserably at the box office, despite a winning performance by Kidman and a cast that included Will Ferrell, Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine and Steve Carell. Despite what appeared to be a career slump, Kidman remained exceptionally popular with moviegoers, and highly paid for her efforts. In fact, 2006 and 2007 reports named her the highest paid actress in the film industry. She also won a place in the record books by becoming the highest paid actress per minute for her appearance in a series of television spots for the famed perfume, Chanel No. 5. Kidman's take for these commercials, which were noticeably directed by her old "Moulin Rouge" buddy Baz Luhrmann, was a reported $3.71 million.
In 2005, Kidman met Australian country singer Keith Urban at an event in Los Angeles. The pair began dating six months later, eventually marrying in 2006. Urban, who had struggled with drug addiction in previous years, checked himself into rehab later that year, emerging sober in early 2007. His new wife reportedly stood by his side, often visiting him in rehab. Kidman returned to features in 2006 with "Fur" (2006), an ambitious (if confusing) imagined biography of troubled photographer Diane Arbus. She later lent her speaking voice to the Marilyn Monroe-sound-a-like mother of Mumbles, the penguin protagonist of the Oscar-winning animated feature "Happy Feet" (2006), which also featured her crooning a version of the Prince hit "Kiss" with fellow Aussie co-star Hugh Jackman on its soundtrack. Kidman later paired with Daniel Craig for "The Invasion" (2007), a critically blasted remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956/1978) which was actually slated for a 2006 release, but studio-requested reshoots pushed its release to the following year. Kidman broke several ribs during a stunt sequence during the reshoots. The incident wasn't the first time Kidman had been injured during the making of a movie; she hurt her knee during one of the more complicated dance numbers in "Moulin Rouge," which forced her to drop out of David Fincher's thriller "Panic Room" (2002).
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. In 2008, Luhrmann tapped Kidman to star in the World War II era epic "Australia" (2008), co-starring fellow Aussie and friend Hugh Jackman, but the expectedly elaborate production was a dismal failure with critics and only brought in box office numbers overseas. The actress gave birth to a daughter, Sunday Rose, with husband Keith Urban that summer and returned to theaters in 2009 in Rob Marshall's adaptation of the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical "Nine" (2009). Echoing its original source material, Federico Fellini's "8 ½" (1963), the film starred Daniel Day-Lewis as an aging filmmaker struggling to finish a film while preoccupied with complicated relationships with his wife (Marion Cotillard) and his film star muse (Kidman).
Her follow-up film was also based on a Tony-winning title, the dramatic play "Rabbit Hole" (2010). Kidman served as producer on John Cameron Mitchell's independent film adaptation, also starring opposite Aaron Eckhart as a couple grieving the loss of their only child in a car accident. The emotionally grueling performance earned Kidman well-deserved nominations for Best Actress from the Indie Spirit, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards following some of the most glowing reviews of her career. Less memorable was her supporting turn as Jennifer Aniston's long-time rival in the lightweight Adam Sandler romantic comedy "Just Go With It" (2011), followed by a starring role opposite Nicolas Cage in the box office dud "Tresspass" (2011). A claustrophobic thriller about a husband and wife (Cage and Kidman) whose bond is tested during a home invasion amid revelations of deceit and betrayal, "Trespass" was panned by critics and ignored by audiences, going from theatrical release to DVD in less than a month. After a brief voice cameo in the animated sequel "Happy Feet Two" (2011), Kidman shared screen time with Clive Owen in the title roles of the romantic biopic "Hemingway & Gellhorn" (HBO, 2012). In the period drama, Kidman played war correspondent Martha Gellhorn, whose romance with the revered American author (Owen) during the Spanish Civil War and eventual marriage inspired Hemingway's opus For Whom the Bell Tolls, a performance that delivered Kidman's first-ever Emmy Award nomination. Praised for her performance in the cable movie, Kidman went on to garner further acclaim as a sultry woman whose correspondence romance with a death row inmate (John Cusack) becomes a source of conflict for a pair of investigative reporters (Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron) in director Lee Daniels' Southern potboiler "The Paperboy" (2012). At year's end, both projects garnered Kidman Golden Globe nominations for her work in both the TV biopic and the feature film.
Following a co-starring role in psychological thriller "Stoker" (2013), Kidman starred oppiste Colin Firth in war drama "The Railway Man" (2013) and mystery "Before I Go To Sleep" (2014). After an embarrassing incident in which her starring turn in the biopic "Grace of Monaco" (2014) ended up being removed from the studio release schedule and ending up as a Lifetime movie of the week, Kidman co-starred in the family film "Paddington" (2014), based on the beloved series of books by Michael Bond. The following year was a busy one, with Kidman starring in the mystery "Strangerland" (2015), Jason Bateman's comedy-drama "The Family Fang" (2015), and thriller "Secret In Their Eyes" (2015). Most notably, Kidman starred as British archeologist and explorer Gertrude Bell in Werner Herzog's biopic "Queen of the Desert" (2015). Kidman next appeared in Garth Davis' fact-based drama "Lion" (2016) as the adoptive mother of a young man who uses Google Earth to track down his birth family in India; Kidman scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role. Making the move to American television, Kidman co-starred with Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley in the miniseries "Big Little Lies" (HBO 2017).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1971
Non-professional acting debut as a sheep in a Nativity play at age four
1983
Cast as Annie on the series "Five Mile Creek" (Disney Channel), appeared on the last 12 episodes of the series
1983
Appeared in Australian teen film "BMX Bandits"
1983
Made Australian film debut in "Bush Christmas"
1986
Cast as a rock star who falls for a windsurfer in "Windrider"
1987
Reteamed with director Duigan on the Australian telefilm "Room to Move"
1987
Gave breakthrough TV performance in the Kennedy-Miller miniseries "Vietnam"; reportedly underwent a six-and-a-half-hour improvisational audition to land the role; episodes directed by John Duigan and Chris Noonan
1989
Breakthrough screen role as Sam Neill's young wife in the thriller "Dead Calm," directed by Philip Noyce
1989
Offered terrific turn as a woman duped into carrying drugs who is caught and imprisoned in Australian miniseries "Bangkok Hilton"
1990
Teamed again with John Duigan on "Flirting"; best pal Naomi Watts also in cast
1990
U.S. film debut, "Days of Thunder" opposite future husband Tom Cruise
1991
Gave a strong performance as a mobster's mistress in the underappreciated "Billy Bathgate," directed by Robert Benton
1992
Co-starred as an Irish lass who heads to Oklahoma with her lover (Cruise) in the Ron Howard directed "Far and Away"
1993
Cast as a young wife who desperately wants a child in "Malice"
1993
Starred opposite Michael Keaton in the drama "My Life"
1995
Delivered a critically-acclaimed portrayal of a brutally ambitious weather girl in Gus Van Sant's black comedy "To Die For"
1995
Portrayed the love interest of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the overblown "Batman Returns"
1996
Played Isabel Archer in Jane Campion's sumptuous (but ineffectual) adaptation of Henry James' "The Portrait of a Lady"; Campion had originally offered her the role then made her audition for the part
1997
Offered a fearsomely serious approach to her role as Dr. Julia Kelly, acting head of the White House Nuclear Smugling Group, in the action thriller "The Peacemaker"
1998
Co-starred with Sandra Bullock as sisters who happen to be witches in "Practical Magic"
1998
Made London stage debut in David Hare's "The Blue Room," where the actress briefly appeared nude; show transferred to NYC in November marking Kidman's Broadway debut
1999
Starred opposite Cruise as a husband and wife experiencing marital discord in the Stanley-Kubrick directed "Eyes Wide Shut"; filmed over a 14-month period from November 1996 to January 1998
2001
Played a high-strung mother in the period thriller "The Others," written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar
2001
Recorded "Somethin' Stupid" with singer Robbie Williams; had Number One hit record in Great Britain
2001
Had singing and dancing role as the courtesan Satine opposite Ewan McGregor in the Baz Luhrmann directed "Moulin Rouge!"; reportedly beat out Courtney Love for the role; received first Best Actress Oscar nomination
2002
Cast as Virginia Woolf in "The Hours," the feature adaptation of Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer-winning novel; received a SAG nomination for her performance
2003
Announced as the new celebrity spokeswoman for Chanel No. 5, the top selling fragrance in the world
2003
Co-starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in "The Human Stain," an adaptation of Philip Roth's novel
2003
Starred with Jude Law in Anthony Minghella's "Cold Mountain"; received a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a dramatic role
2003
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (January)
2004
Co-starred with Matthew Broderick in the remake of ''The Stepford Wives,'' Bryan Forbes' 1975 cult classic about upper-crust women being replaced by robots with sunny dispositions
2004
Played a woman on the run from the mob, hiding out in a small town in "Dogville" directed by Lars von Trier
2004
Starred in "Birth" with Cameron Bright and Lauren Bacall as a woman who becomes convinced that a ten year old boy is the reincarnation of her dead husband; received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Lead Actress (Drama)
2005
Starred opposite Sean Penn in Sydney Pollack's "The Interpreter"
2005
Cast as Samantha in the big-screen adaptation of "Bewitched"
2006
Portrayed photographer Diane Arbus in "Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus"
2007
Co-starred with Daniel Craig in "The Invasion," a film based on the 1956 film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"
2007
Played the villainous Mrs. Coulter in "The Golden Compass," a film adaptation of the first part of <i>His Dark Materials</i> trilogy
2007
Portrayed a neurotic writer who disapproves of her sister's fiancé (Jack Black) in director Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding"
2008
Re-teamed with director Baz Luhrmann for the epic "Australia"; also co-starred with Hugh Jackman
2009
Played Daniel Day-Lewis' muse in Rob Marshall's musical adaptation of the Broadway play "Nine"
2010
Co-starred with Aaron Eckhart in John Cameron Mitchell's indie drama "Rabbit Hole"
2011
Nominated for the 2011 Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead ("Rabbit Hole")
2011
Nominated for the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama ("Rabbit Hole")
2011
Nominated for the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role ("Rabbit Hole")
2011
Nominated for the 2011 Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
2011
Nominated for the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
2011
Nominated for the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2011
Nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
2011
Turned in a comedic performance in "Just Go with It" opposite Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston
2011
Co-starred with Nicolas Cage in crime drama "Trespass"
2012
Portrayed WWII correspondent Martha Gellhorn opposite Clive Owen's Ernest Hemingway in HBO romantic drama "Hemingway & Gellhorn"
2012
Co-starred with Zac Efron and Matthew McConaughey in Lee Daniels' "The Paperboy"
2013
Co-starred with Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode in drama thriller "Stoker"
2013
Played the lead character in the biographical drama "Grace of Monaco"
2014
Landed a starring role in the family comedy "Paddington"
2015
Co-starred alongside Julia Roberts in the mystery-thriller "Secret in Their Eyes"
2016
Co-starred alongside Colin Firth in the biographical drama "Genius"
2016
Had a role in Australian drama "Lion," based on Saroo Brierley's memoir "A Long Way Home"
2017
Appeared in the second season of "Top of the Lake"
2017
Played a supporting role in romantic comedy "How to Talk to Girls at Parties"
2017
Nominated for a 2017 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "Lion"; lost to Viola Davis for "Fences"
2017
Co-starred in HBO mini-series "Big Little Lies"
2017
Appeared opposite Colin Farrell in Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Killing of a Sacred Deer"
2017
Cast as Miss Martha in Sofia Coppola's "The Beguiled"
2017
Co-starred with Bryan Cranston in dramedy "The Upside"
2018
Was unrecognizable as an undercover cop in crime drama "Destroyer"
2018
Played Queen Atlanna in DC's "Aquaman"
2018
Starred opposite Lucas Hedges in Joel Edgerton's drama "Boy Erased"
2019
Starred as Mrs. Barbour in "The Goldfinch"
2019
Cast as Grace Sachs on the series "The Undoing"
Videos
Movie Clip
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Kidman is reportedly descended from a famous Australian clan headed by the late cattle baron, Sir Sydney Kidman, who had vast land and livestock holdings in Australia.
Kidman was voted Best Actress of the Year for "Vietnam" in a poll of the Australian public.
She suffered a miscarriage in March 2001, about a month after husband Tom Cruise had filed for divorce.
"When I heard about the Suzanne role in 'To Die For,' I thought, 'I'll never get it, it'll be offered to someone else.' So I called Gus [Van Sant] at home and he took my call, thank God. I told him I'd seen 'Drugstore Cowboy' and I really wanted to work with him. I said I was destined to work with him."---Kidman quoted in Los Angeles Times, October 1, 1995.
"It was hard when people criticized 'Portrait of a Lady.' The film meant a lot. But as a person, it's good to go through, too, I suppose. You hope it's going to be wonderful and everyone will love it, and then that doesn't happen and ... that's OK. I still love the film, and am very proud of it."---Nicole Kidman to Vanity Fair, October 1997.
"My mom calls me tenacious. I think my determination has been there since I was a little kid."---Kidman quoted in Biography, August 1999.
"Flirting" director John Duigan advised her not to attend the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney Kidman told Talk, September 2000: "He said, 'Don't you dare go, they will destroy you. So I never went. I always think I would have loved to have gone, because I love being around actors, I love talking about acting, and I wanted to go to college, but he said don't go, so I chose the other route, which was to work, work, work."
"If her longtime friend Russell Crowe perfectly embodies the earthbound, beer-and-a-cig Aussie male, ... Kidman is her country's soaring, striving siren, cinematic superstar, cynosure, spouse."---From Talk, September 2000.
"I am very shy, really shy, I even had a bit of a stutter as a kid, which I slowly got over, but I still regress to that shyness. So I don't like walking into a crowded restaurant by myself; I don't like going to a party by myself ... "---Kidman quoted in Talk, September 2000.
Describing herself, Kidman told Talk (September 2000): "I'm pretty emotional, highly strung. If something upsets me, then it really upsets me; if it makes me angry, then I really get angry. But it is all very up-front. I can't hide it. And it's worse when I've got PMS ... But I'm also incredibly loyal, and I hope I'm fun."
" ... in the end, I hope that I've done some unusual films and tried to keep my very public life private, quiet, and dignified. That's what I attempt to do."---Kidman quoted in Marie Claire, May 2001.
In a conversation with "Moulin Rouge!" director Baz Luhrmann in Interview (May 2001), Kidman and he discussed success.BL: Where are you now, and where, really, is the next level for you?NK: That's something that plagues me. I'm constantly saying to myself, "All right, so this is my life now, but where is it going to lead me that's going to make me a more fully realized person?" Because you can settle into complacency and that terrifies me.
BL: Yeah, and I think you can settle more easily in our environment that in others.NK: Yes. When you've reached a certain level you go, "I don't need to push myself, don't need to challenge myself." Success, I think is something so corrupting to us all.
BL: Is it that it brings power?NK: It brings power, it brings complacency. I think as an actor, as a director, as a writer, as an artist, there is no formula. It's about saying, "OK, I'm willing to take a risk and I don't care if I lose everything, because what is all this worth if I don't have my integrity and free spirit?" I suppose it comes back to being free-spirited.
BL: What do you mean by that, Nicole?NK: Well, it means not being controlled, not being confined by expectations of others. Or even your expectations of yourself. And it's hard, it's very easy to say and it's much harder to do.
Kidman spoke to journalist Garry Maddox about the coverage of her personal life following Tom Cruise's decision to file for divorce: "It's very upsetting and it's invasive. I understand that people are interested, but it's my life, my personal life. It's my job as a mother to protect my children and their privacy. It's very difficult seeing your life being dragged through the newspapers and the tabloids and your children being dragged through it."---quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald, April 5, 2001.
"She's has definitely entered the league where she can carry a movie and have box office. Two things that Hollywood is interested in."---Miramax co-chair Bob Weinstein quoted in People, December 3, 2001.
Kidman was Entertainment Weekly's choice as Entertainer of the Year 2001.
"Tom has a much stronger protective shield around him than I do. I'm much more open to emotion. I've been in a more fragile, vulnerable state, while he can move on. With an enormous amount of force and willpower."---Kidman quoted to Premiere, November 2002.
October 2003, Kidman won a five figure sum and an apology from Sun Newspaper (British newspaper) which said she had had an affair with actor Jude Law and was to blame for the break-up of his marriage
Kidman was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People for 2004
"She's this really Aussie girl who's full of life and has this loud, honking laugh," Luhrmann told People. As for her physical appearance, he said: "You can do a lot with makeup, but you can't create that luminosity."---Baz Luhrmann quoted in People April 3, 2004
"In terms of your life, if you start to exploit it, then what's real, and what's not? What's yours, and what isn't?"---Kidman to Vanity Fair, July, 2005.
