Nicole Kidman

Australian stage actor Marcus Graham was the first man in the life of Nicole Kidman. Though the two were in a live-in relationship, nothing formalized between them to walk up to the altar.

In the mid-1980s, she shared an on-and–off relationship with her Windrider co-star Tom Burlinson.

It was however, while working on the sets of ‘Days of Thunder’ that Kidman fell in serious relationship with co-actor Tom Cruise. The two tied the knot on Christmas Eve 1990 in Telluride, Colorado. They had two adopted children, a daughter, Isabella Jane and a son, Connor Anthony.

Nicole Kidman was born to David Kidman and Janelle Ann. While her father was a biochemist, clinical psychologist, and author, her mother was a nursing instructor. She has a younger sister named Antonio Kidman.

Both her parents were Australian citizens but were temporarily in United States on educational visa when Kidman was born. Thus, young Kidman could claim citizenship of both Australia and the United States.

Kidman returned with her parents to Australia at the age of four. She attended Lane Cove Public School, post which she was enrolled at the North Sydney Girls' High School.

Since the young age, Kidman was bit by the acting bug which was prevalently seen all through her primary and high school years. She even enrolled for a class at ballet.

However, the unfortunate incident when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer caused Kidman to forgo her studies. She worked as a massage therapist to assist the family financially.

Kidman’s debut in the film industry was in the remake of the Australian holiday season favourite ‘Bush Christmas’ in 1983. Thereafter, she did quite a couple of films including ‘BMX Bandits’, ‘Watch the Shadows Dance’, and ‘Windrider’. Other than films, Kidman was also seen in various television series, such as ‘Five Mile Creek’, ‘A Country Practice’ and the miniseries ‘Vietnam’.

In 1988, came ‘Emerald City’. The film had Kidman playing a supporting role with panache. She did complete justice to her role and was duly praised by both public and critics.

The big leap in Kidman’s career came with the release of the film ‘Dead Calm’ in 1989. Her role of Rae Ingram garnered rave reviews and brought her international fame and recognition.

Since then, there was no looking back for this talented and versatile actor who gave one hit after the other. ‘Days of Thunder’ was Kidman’s big ticket to success in Hollywood. The film was not only her debut in the American film industry but also featured in the highest-grossing films of the year.

Kidman was enjoying the much deserved career success. Revelling in the accomplishment, however, she did not lose focus and paid utmost attention to her career graph which was escalating upwards. She gave some terrific performances in films like ‘Flirting’, ‘Billy Bathgate’, ‘Far and Away’ and ‘My Life’.

1995 was a super successful year for Kidman. She bagged the lead roles for the movies ‘Batman Forever’ and ‘To Die For’. While the former has been highest-grossing live-action film as of 2011, the latter won her, her first Golden Globe award.

While her films were faring well at the box office and receiving much popular and critical acclaim, Kidman did not forsake the love for theatre and was seen playing in the David Hare play, ‘The Blue Room’, which opened in London.

Next, she starred opposite Tom Cruise for the film, ‘Eyes Wide Shut’. Though the film gained positive reviews at the opening, it was later subject to censorship controversies due to the explicit nature of sex scenes.

Kidman’s next venture for the big screen was with the British American film, ‘Birthday Girl’ where she played a mail-order bride.

The versatility of Kidman was put to test in the year 2001 when two of her movies, which were entirely different from each other, were released. While ‘Moulin Rouge’ was a musical feat wherein she played the character of a cabaret actress and courtesan, ‘The Others’, a Spanish horror film had Kidman play the role of a Catholic mother of two. Least surprisingly, Kidman was commendable in both the films and attracted much positive response.