Biography Nicole Mary Kidman

Nicole Mary Kidman was born on June 20th 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was the first child of Anthony and Janelle Kidman, both of whom have had vibrant lives with Anthony being a biochemist, author and clinical psychologist, and Janelle working as a nurse and feminist.

Nicole was born in America because Anthony was working at the University of Hawaii. She didn't move to Australia until 1971, but by this time she had already shown an interest in the arts by taking up ballet at the age of three. It should be noted that because of being born in the USA of Australian parents Nicole holds dual nationality, which has helped her to gain film roles in Hollywood.

Nicole is very much her mother's daughter, being brought up to be head strong and not afraid of men - which has helped her from a very young age. At 6, because of not getting the staring role in her school's nativity show, she said everyone else's lines on the big night.

At the age of 10 Nicole enrolled in drama school where she really started to gain an interest in acting, at least compared to dancing. About this time it was discovered that she had a genetic inability to tan. This with her excessive height and fuzzy hair made her into a target for ridicule from her peers (but at that age most children can be nasty towards each other).

Nicole reached 5' 9" (approx 1.7m) by 13 and is quoted as saying "…I thought I was the ugliest girl in the world until the guys started asking me out on dates."

At 14 whilst studying at the St. Martin's Youth Theater in Melbourne Nicole landed her first film roles in the TV movies Bush Christmas & Chase Through the Night, which now airs most Christmas' in Australia.

Over the next 3 or so years Nicole became a pupil at the North Sydney Girls High School, and appeared in 9 other films. The most notable of which is Windrider where she starred with Tom Burlinson with whom she later had a 2-year affair.

Then came her first big break with a small, but none the less important role in the TV mini series Vietnam. In fact her acting was considered so good that she won the Australian Film Institute's award for best television actress.

Nicole was now a star, at least in Australia, and it was her next movie Dead Calm that really catapulted her onto the international stage. Nicole knew that this was her best chance to 'make it big' and is quoted as saying "…I focused all my energies on this part." This movie not only proved to be her big break into Hollywood, but also brought her to the attention of the then married Tom Cruise and led to her being summoned to a casting for his next project Days Of Thunder.

On auditioning for Days Of Thunder Nicole was not confident, now being 5' 10" (approx 1.75m) and so towering over the leading man, but she didn't have to worry because she got the part.

Nicole and Tom fell in love during the filming, and once his divorce to Mimi Rogers in 1990 came through the stage was set. On December 24th 1990, during the filming of Billy Bathgate Nicole and Tom were married, it was a very low-key affair with just 10 guests at Telluride in Colorado.

Her marriage was always going to attract media attention, especially because so few Hollywood marriages succeed, but I doubt if she knew that this attention would last a lifetime.

After Billy Bathgate she starred along side Tom in Far and Away, which showed to the film world their obsession with the media. This was because after having a promised photo taken with the crew they [Nicole and Tom] were unable to authorise its release.

Far and Away was not really a success for Nicole and her next film role in My Life was limited, however this led to Malice, which I believe shows her acting abilities wonderfully.

In her personal life Nicole and Tom managed to adopt a baby girl in January 1993, called Isabella Jane Kidman Cruise.

Then came the chance of starring in the black comedy To Die For. Nicole has been quoted as saying, "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." After getting the role and giving an excellent performance she was honored with a plethora of awards including a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture.

In 1995 Nicole and Tom adopted their second child, Connor Anthony Cruise after his birth in February.

The film roles that followed included The Portrait Of A Lady that Nicole really wanted. Jane Campion, who Nicole had met at the age of 14 and turned down for a role in Jane's final year project, directed it. Nicole likes strong female roles, so The Portrait Of A Lady suited her down to the ground - she lived the part even wearing a very tight fitting corset off stage.

In 1997 Nicole starred along side George Clooney in The Peacemaker, which although being the first film from the Dreamworks studio was not as successful as she may have hoped.

Then came Practical Magic, which has been called a 'chick flick' where Nicole played along side Sandra Bullock. Since then they have both been good friends, which is rare within Hollywood.

Nicole then moved to England to work on Eyes Wide Shut with husband Tom. During the filming (which took 18 months) Nicole took up a stage role in the West End play The Blue Room. Her stage acting was so acclaimed that she won 2 awards, and when Eyes Wide Shut was released it too was applauded.

Nicole then began work on 3 new films (In The Cut, The Birthday Girl and Moulin Rouge), all of which were due out in 2000 and all of which, for one reason or another have been delayed.

6th February 2001 - It's announced that Nicole and Tom are to 'regretfully separate' due to 'difficulties that are inherent in their divergent careers which constantly keep them apart'. The Media are having a field day, I am sure that this story will run and run.

8th Feb 2001 - Tom in a shock move files for divorce from Nicole.
May 2001 - Moulin Rouge opens the Cannes Film Festival and everyone is so impressed with Nicole, her singing and acting as well as the film it's self. This is possibly the best film Nic has stared in - and definitely could not have come at a more strained time.