On June 20, 1967, Nicole Kidman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Raised in Sydney, Australia, she grew up to become one of the most sought-after actresses of our time. Known for her incredible range as a performer and her beauty, Kidman turns 51 years old today!
Kidman was born in Hawaii while her Australian parents were living there on an education visa. The family moved back to Australia when Kidman was four years old. As a young girl, her first love was ballet. However, by the time she was a teenager, acting was her only passion. She dropped out of high school at 16 to become a full-time actress. Her first film was 1983’s “Bush Christmas.” However, Kidman became a star in the United States with the 1989 film, “Dead Calm.” She then starred in the NASCAR adventure film “Days of Thunder” with her future first husband, Tom Cruise. The two actors also starred in “Far and Away” (1992) and “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999) together.
Throughout the 1990s, Kidman starred in a series of popular films. However, she finally earned critical acclaim for her role in the black comedy “To Die For.” She took home her first Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of a ruthless housewife. With that role, she established herself as an actress with an impressive range. She later dazzled audiences in Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge!” During that time, she also divorced Tom Cruise. She earned her first Best Actress Oscar at the 75th Academy Awards for portraying Virginia Woolf in 2002’s “The Hours.” A year later, she starred in another critically and commercially acclaimed film, “Cold Mountain,” alongside Jude Law and Renée Zellweger.
Throughout the early aughts, Kidman starred in many indie films, including 2004’s “Dogville” and 2010’s “Rabbit Hole,” for which she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. She also lent her acting talent to some comedic films, including “Bewitched.” In 2006, she married the Aussie country star Keith Urban.
In 2016, she starred in the film “Lion,” in which she plays an Australian woman who adopts a lost Indian boy. Kidman earned both an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for that role. She is currently filming the second season of “Big Little Lies.” In the show, she portrays a victim of domestic violence.
Kidman won the 2018 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made. She delivered a powerful statement related to her “Big Little Lies” character’s plight: “My mom was an advocate for the women’s movement growing up, and standing here, my achievements are her achievements… This character I played represents something at the center of our conversation right now: abuse. I hope we can elicit change… Let’s keep the conversation alive.”