Nicole Kidman

Many have been fooled into thinking that Nicole was born Down Under because of her accent, but she was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 20, 1967. Her parents had moved to the U.S. to allow Nicole's biochemist father to pursue his research on breast cancer, but when Nicole was 4 years old,... More

Many have been fooled into thinking that Nicole was born Down Under because of her accent, but she was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 20, 1967. Her parents had moved to the U.S. to allow Nicole's biochemist father to pursue his research on breast cancer, but when Nicole was 4 years old, her family returned to Australia, where she and her younger sister Antonia were raised under strict rules.

Nicole made her film debut in 1983, in the Australian films “Bush Christmas” and “BMX Bandits.” Her performance spawned further roles, and before long she dropped out of high school to pursue a full-time acting career and tend to her mother who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. As her mother gradually recovered, Nicole began to achieve star status in Australia. She also established visibility in the United States, appearing in the 1989 thriller, “Dead Calm.”

Nicole's next film would mold her life in more ways than one. Starring in the racecar flick “Days of Thunder,” she stole co-star Tom Cruise's heart both on and off the screen (even though Tom was actually married to Mimi Rogers at the time). The couple wed after a brief courtship in 1990.

Kidman continued her film career, appearing 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 then starred opposite Michael Keaton in the tearjerker “My Life” (1993). 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.

In 2001, Tom filed for divorce from Nicole, which was highly publicized in the media. Nicole and Tom were married for 10 years and adopted two children, Isabella Jane and Connor Anthony. The 2003 film Cold Mountain was plagued by rumors that an on-set affair between Kidman and co-star Jude Law was responsible for the breakup of his marriage. Shortly after her Oscar win, there were unconfirmed rumors of a relationship between her and fellow Oscar winner Adrien Brody. She later met musician Lenny Kravitz in 2003 and dated him into 2004.

A year later Kidman met country singer Keith Urban at a Hollywood event honoring Australians in January. Kidman and Urban were married on Sunday June 25, 2006, at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel in the grounds of St Patrick's Estate, Manly in Sydney.

Nicole Kidman(8)