Nicole Kidman
- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
Elegant Nicole Kidman, known as one of Hollywood's top
Australian imports, was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, while her Australian parents were there on educational visas.
Kidman is the daughter of Janelle Ann (Glenny), a nursing instructor, and
Antony David Kidman, a biochemist and clinical psychologist. She is of
English, Irish, and Scottish descent. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where Nicole's father pursued his
research on breast cancer, and then, three years later, made the
pilgrimage back to her parents' native Sydney in Australia, where Nicole was raised. Young Nicole's
first love was ballet, but she eventually took up mime and drama as
well (her first stage role was a bleating sheep in an elementary school
Christmas pageant). In her adolescent years, acting edged out the other
arts and became a kind of refuge -- as her classmates sought out fun in
the sun, the fair-skinned Kidman retreated to dark rehearsal halls to
practice her craft. She worked regularly at the Philip Street Theater,
where she once received a personal letter of praise and encouragement
from audience member Jane Campion (then a
film student). Kidman eventually dropped out of high school to pursue
acting full-time. She broke into movies at age 16, landing a role in
the Australian holiday favorite
Bush Christmas (1983). That
appearance touched off a flurry of film and television offers,
including a lead in
BMX Bandits (1983) and a turn as a
schoolgirl-turned-protester in the miniseries
Vietnam (1987) (for which she won her
first Australian Film Institute Award). With the help of an American
agent, she eventually made her US debut opposite
Sam Neill in the at-sea thriller
Dead Calm (1989).
Kidman's next casting coup scored her more than exposure. While
starring as Tom Cruise's doctor/love interest
in the racetrack romance
Days of Thunder (1990), she won
over the Hollywood hunk hook, line and sinker. After a whirlwind
courtship (and decent box office returns), the couple wed on December
24, 1990. Determined not to let her new marital status overshadow her
fledgling career, the actress pressed on. She appeared as a catty high
school senior in the Australian film
Flirting (1991), then as
Dustin Hoffman's moll in the gangster
flick Billy Bathgate (1991). She
reunited with Cruise for
Far and Away (1992), the story of
young Irish lovers who flee to America in the late 1800s, and starred
opposite Michael Keaton in the
tear-tugger My Life (1993). Despite her
steady employment, critics and moviegoers still had not quite warmed to
Kidman as a leading lady. She tried to spice up her image by seducing
Val Kilmer in
Batman Forever (1995), but
achieved her real breakthrough with
Gus Van Sant's
To Die For (1995). As a fame-crazed
housewife determined to eliminate any obstacle in her path, Kidman
proved that she had an impressive range and deadly comic timing. She
took home a Golden Globe and several critics' awards for the
performance. In 1996, Kidman stepped into a corset to work with her
countrywoman and onetime admirer,
Jane Campion, on the adaptation of
Henry James's
The Portrait of a Lady (1996).
A few months later, she tore across the screen as a nuclear weapons
expert in The Peacemaker (1997),
adding "action star" to her professional repertoire.
She and Cruise then disappeared into a notoriously long, secretive
shoot for Stanley Kubrick's sexual
thriller Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
The couple's on-screen shenanigans prompted an increase in public
speculation about their sex life (rumors had long been circulating that
their marriage was a cover-up for Cruise's rumored homosexuality); tired of
denying tabloid attacks, they successfully sued The Star for a story
alleging that they needed a sex therapist to coach them through love
scenes. Family life has always been a priority for Kidman. Born to
social activists (mother was a feminist; father, a labor advocate),
Nicole and her little sister,
Antonia Kidman, discussed current events
around the dinner table and participated in their parents' campaigns by
passing out pamphlets on street corners. When her mother was diagnosed
with breast cancer, 17-year-old Nicole stopped working and took a
massage course so that she could provide physical therapy (her mother
eventually beat the cancer). She and Cruise adopted two children:
Isabella Jane (born 1993) and Connor Antony (born 1995). Despite their
rock-solid image, the couple announced in early 2001 that they were
separating due to career conflicts. Her marriage to Cruise ended
mid-summer of 2001.
Australian imports, was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, while her Australian parents were there on educational visas.
Kidman is the daughter of Janelle Ann (Glenny), a nursing instructor, and
Antony David Kidman, a biochemist and clinical psychologist. She is of
English, Irish, and Scottish descent. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where Nicole's father pursued his
research on breast cancer, and then, three years later, made the
pilgrimage back to her parents' native Sydney in Australia, where Nicole was raised. Young Nicole's
first love was ballet, but she eventually took up mime and drama as
well (her first stage role was a bleating sheep in an elementary school
Christmas pageant). In her adolescent years, acting edged out the other
arts and became a kind of refuge -- as her classmates sought out fun in
the sun, the fair-skinned Kidman retreated to dark rehearsal halls to
practice her craft. She worked regularly at the Philip Street Theater,
where she once received a personal letter of praise and encouragement
from audience member Jane Campion (then a
film student). Kidman eventually dropped out of high school to pursue
acting full-time. She broke into movies at age 16, landing a role in
the Australian holiday favorite
Bush Christmas (1983). That
appearance touched off a flurry of film and television offers,
including a lead in
BMX Bandits (1983) and a turn as a
schoolgirl-turned-protester in the miniseries
Vietnam (1987) (for which she won her
first Australian Film Institute Award). With the help of an American
agent, she eventually made her US debut opposite
Sam Neill in the at-sea thriller
Dead Calm (1989).
Kidman's next casting coup scored her more than exposure. While
starring as Tom Cruise's doctor/love interest
in the racetrack romance
Days of Thunder (1990), she won
over the Hollywood hunk hook, line and sinker. After a whirlwind
courtship (and decent box office returns), the couple wed on December
24, 1990. Determined not to let her new marital status overshadow her
fledgling career, the actress pressed on. She appeared as a catty high
school senior in the Australian film
Flirting (1991), then as
Dustin Hoffman's moll in the gangster
flick Billy Bathgate (1991). She
reunited with Cruise for
Far and Away (1992), the story of
young Irish lovers who flee to America in the late 1800s, and starred
opposite Michael Keaton in the
tear-tugger My Life (1993). Despite her
steady employment, critics and moviegoers still had not quite warmed to
Kidman as a leading lady. She tried to spice up her image by seducing
Val Kilmer in
Batman Forever (1995), but
achieved her real breakthrough with
Gus Van Sant's
To Die For (1995). As a fame-crazed
housewife determined to eliminate any obstacle in her path, Kidman
proved that she had an impressive range and deadly comic timing. She
took home a Golden Globe and several critics' awards for the
performance. In 1996, Kidman stepped into a corset to work with her
countrywoman and onetime admirer,
Jane Campion, on the adaptation of
Henry James's
The Portrait of a Lady (1996).
A few months later, she tore across the screen as a nuclear weapons
expert in The Peacemaker (1997),
adding "action star" to her professional repertoire.
She and Cruise then disappeared into a notoriously long, secretive
shoot for Stanley Kubrick's sexual
thriller Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
The couple's on-screen shenanigans prompted an increase in public
speculation about their sex life (rumors had long been circulating that
their marriage was a cover-up for Cruise's rumored homosexuality); tired of
denying tabloid attacks, they successfully sued The Star for a story
alleging that they needed a sex therapist to coach them through love
scenes. Family life has always been a priority for Kidman. Born to
social activists (mother was a feminist; father, a labor advocate),
Nicole and her little sister,
Antonia Kidman, discussed current events
around the dinner table and participated in their parents' campaigns by
passing out pamphlets on street corners. When her mother was diagnosed
with breast cancer, 17-year-old Nicole stopped working and took a
massage course so that she could provide physical therapy (her mother
eventually beat the cancer). She and Cruise adopted two children:
Isabella Jane (born 1993) and Connor Antony (born 1995). Despite their
rock-solid image, the couple announced in early 2001 that they were
separating due to career conflicts. Her marriage to Cruise ended
mid-summer of 2001.