The actress who managed to enter the Guinness Book of Records: Who is Nicole Kidman?

Her full name is Nicole Mary Kidman, she was born on June 20, 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Her father, Anthony Kidman, is a biochemist, clinical psychologist, and author; her mother, Janelle Kidman, was a nursing instructor. Kidman also has a sister named Antonia Kidman. Born to Australian parents in Hawaii, USA, Kidman holds dual citizenship of Australia and the United States. Kidman is of English, Irish and Scottish descent.

After Kidman was born, her family moved to Washington D.C. for an investigation by her father and returned to Australia three years later. Kidman grew up in Sydney, where she attended Lane Cove Public School and North Sydney Girls' High School. She enrolled in ballet at the age of three and realized her natural talent for acting in her primary and high school years. Kidman, who went to drama school at the age of 10, started to take acting with the school when she was 14 years old.

As a teenager, she attended the Phillip Street Theater with fellow actress Naomi Watts and the Australian Teen Theatre, where she began doing drama and mime. Kidman's fair skin and naturally red hair set her apart from the rest. Rehearsing in theaters, Kidman was encouraged to drop out of high school and continue acting full-time as a regular at the Phillip Street Theatre.

In 1983, 16-year-old Kidman made her film debut with a remake of the Australian holiday classic "Bush Christmas." In 1984, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Kidman temporarily stopped her acting job to help her mother with physical therapy. By this time, she had gained recognition after appearing in several Australian films, including the action comedy "BMX Bandits" (1983) and the romantic comedy "Windrider" (1986). She subsequently appeared in various Australian television programmes, including the 1987 mini-series "Vietnam" for which she won her first Australian Film Institute Award.

Kidman next starred in the Australian film "Emerald City" (1988), based on the play of the same name, which earned her a second Australian Film Institute Award. She then garnered attention by co-starring with Sam Neill in the 1989 thriller "Dead Calm." The film became known as her breakthrough role and was one of the first films to gain international recognition.

This success was followed by the romantic adventure movie "Days of Thunder" in 1990, in which she starred with Tom Cruise. The film was among the highest-grossing films of the year. Kidman married Tom Cruise on December 24, 1990 after this movie. And a few months later, in 1991, she earned her first Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Billy Bathgate."

The following year, Kidman and Cruise reunited for Ron Howard's historical film "Far and Away" (1992), which was both a commercial success and critical acclaim. Kidman's next roles in "My Life" (1993) and "Malice" (1993) achieved similar results. In 1995, she joined the cast of the movie "Batman Forever" full of famous names. That same year, she appeared in Gus Van Sant's critically acclaimed black comedy "To Die For", in which she starred. The film earned Kidman her first Golden Globe Award.

In the following years, she starred with Barbara Hershey and John Malkovich in "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996), based on the novel of the same name. She continued her rise by co-starring with George Clooney in "The Peacemaker" (1997). The movie grossed hugely worldwide. In 1998, she appeared in the romantic comedy "Practical Magic" with Sandra Bullock. The movie was a commercial box office failure.

In 1999, Kidman reunited with then-wife Tom Cruise in their third movie together, "Eyes Wide Shut." Kidman returned to the screen with a role in the British-American drama "Birthday Girl" (2001). In 2001 Baz Luhrmann's musical "Moulin Rouge!" co-starred with Ewan McGregor. She received positive reviews for her performance and singing. This role earned her second Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. And she has received many awards and nominations, including her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Also in 2001, Kidman played a mother in Alejandro Amenábar's psychological horror film "The Others" (2001). Her performance earned her several awards and nominations, including her second BAFTA Award and fifth Golden Globe Award nomination, as well as a Goya Award nomination for Best Actress.

The following year, Kidman received critical acclaim when he appeared in Stephen Daldry's "The Hours," opposite Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. The film was a critical success, earning several awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Kidman won numerous critical and industry awards, including her first BAFTA Award, her third Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first Australian to win the award.

Kidman starred in three different films in 2003. The first was an experimental film set in a nude soundstage, starring director Lars von Trier in "Dogville." Although the film divided critics, Kidman was praised for her performance. The second film was an adaptation of Philip Roth's novel "The Human Stain" with Anthony Hopkins. Her third film was Anthony Minghella's war drama "Cold Mountain", in which she co-starred with Jude Law and Renée Zellweger. The film received several awards and nominations, and Kidman received her sixth Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

Kidman, who has acted in many films, became the face of the Chanel No.5 perfume brand with her success in the film industry. The price paid to Kidman for a three-minute commercial for a perfume promotion made an actor the record holder for the most paid per minute. And she made it to the 50th issue of the Guinness Book of Records as the highest paid actress. She was also listed as the 45th Most Powerful Celebrity on Forbes' 2005 Celebrity 100 List.

In 2007, she starred in the fantasy adventure movie "The Golden Compass," which grossed over US$370 million worldwide and also became one of her highest-grossing films to date. Kidman began the 2010s by producing and starring alongside Aaron Eckhart in the film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Rabbit Hole." Her performance garnered critical acclaim and was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress.

In 2012, Kidman co-starred with Clive Owen in the HBO movie "Hemingway & Gellhorn," which chronicled the relationship between journalist couple Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn. Kidman received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her performance. The following year, she starred as an unstable mother in Park Chan-wook's "Stoker", which received positive reviews and was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. In April 2013, she was selected as a member of the main competition jury at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Then, respectively; Grace of Monaco(2014), The Railway Man(2013), Before I Go To Sleep(2011), Paddington(2014), Strangerland(2015), The Family Fang(2015), Queen of the Desert(2015) and Secret in Their Eyes (2015) she appeared in the films.

In the movie "Lion" in 2016, Kidman played the stepmother of Saroo Brierley, an Indian boy separated from his natural family, and was nominated for many awards and received positive reviews for this role. In 2017, Kidman returned to television for the drama series "Big Little Lies" based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty. She also served as executive producer on the series. Kidman won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series as a producer. Additionally, she has also won a Screen Actors Guild Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards for her work on the show.

In 2018, Kidman starred in two TV series: Destroyer and Boy Erased. That same year, Kidman took on the role of Queen Atlanna, the main character's mother, in the DC Extended Universe superhero movie "Aquaman." Forbes magazine named Kidman the fourth highest-paid actress in the world in 2019, with an annual income of $34 million.

In 2019, she played the supporting role of a wealthy socialite in the drama film "The Goldfinch" starring Ansel Elgort. Despite the film's poor reception, the role of Kidman was praised. Kidman kicked off the 2020s with her role as Grace Fraser, a successful New York therapist, in the psychological thriller miniseries "The Undoing." In 2021, she co-starred with Javier Bardem in the biographical drama "Being the Ricardos" directed by Aaron Sorkin. Despite the negative reactions, her portrayal was greatly appreciated. She later won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture for her performance and was nominated for many awards.

In September 2021, Kidman starred in an AMC Theater commercial for "We Make Movies Better," which will precede every movie in the chain's theaters from that month onwards. Kidman's sponsorship was subsequently extended for another year in August 2022. Kidman was also on the ground in April 2022, in addition to serving as executive producer on an episode of "Roar," an anthology series based on Cecelia Ahern's 2018 short story collection. That same month, she starred in the historical drama "The Northman," directed by Robert Eggers, with Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, and Willem Dafoe. The movie received great acclaim after its release.

Kidman will also voice Queen Ellsmere in the fantasy animated movie "Spellbound." In January 2023, she joined the cast of the Paramount+ television series "Lioness," for which she is currently the executive producer.

Private life

Kidman met Tom Cruise in 1989 while working on the set of 'Days of Thunder', in which they both starred. The couple married in Colorado on Christmas Eve 1990. The couple adopted a daughter and a son while they were married. On February 5, 2001, the couple's spokesperson announced their separation.

Later, Kidman married Keith Urban on June 25, 2006 at Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel in Manly, Sydney. The couple's first daughter was born in Nashville in 2008. In 2010, Kidman and Urban gave birth to their second daughter by surrogacy at Centennial Women's Hospital in Nashville.

The star actress was included in the list of "The World's 50 Most Beautiful People" by People magazine in 1996, 1999 and 2002. Kidman writes short stories in her spare time. Publishing the stories she wrote is one of the dreams that the actor hopes to fulfill. Kidman, who is allergic to strawberries, has a phobia of butterflies. Snakes and spiders are also among the animals that the star player fears. Declared a "World Citizen" by the United Nations in 2004, Kidman has also held the title of "Australian Goodwill Ambassador" of UNICEF since 1994.