Known for her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses since the late s. She was Oscar-nominated for her roles in Moulin Rouge!
She was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia in Kidman was married to actor Tom Cruise from to , and has been married to country music singer Keith Urban since In , she founded the production company Blossom Films. In and , Time included her on its list of the most influential people in the world , and in , The New York Times named her one of the greatest actors of the 21st century.
Nicole Mary Kidman was born on 20 June , in Honolulu , Hawaii, [ 5 ] [ 6 ] while her Australian parents were temporarily in the United States on student visas. The inspiration came from a baby elephant born around the same time at the Honolulu Zoo. He became a visiting fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health. While living in Washington, D. She was enrolled in ballet at the age of three and showed her natural talent for acting during her primary and high school years.
Kidman has said she first aspired to become an actress upon watching Margaret Hamilton 's performance as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. So I don't like walking into a crowded restaurant by myself; I don't like going to a party by myself. Owing to her fair skin and naturally red hair, the sun drove her to rehearse in the halls of the theatre. In , year-old Kidman made her film debut in a remake of the Australian holiday classic Bush Christmas.
In , her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, which caused Kidman to halt her acting work temporarily while she studied massage therapy to help her mother with physical therapy. Kidman next appeared in the Australian film Emerald City , based on the play of the same name , which earned her a second Australian Film Institute Award. She then starred alongside Sam Neill in the thriller Dead Calm as Rae Ingram, the wife of a naval officer who is menaced by a castaway at sea, played by Billy Zane.
