Nichole Mary Kidman is a well-known American cum Australian Actress, singer, fashion model and humanitarian. Nichole Kidman was born to Australian parents Dr. Antony David Kidman and Janelle Ann on June 20, 1967 at Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Since she was born in America she holds dual citizenship of America and Australia. Her parents moved back to Australia when she was 4 years old.

As a kid she was very much interested in ballet, mime and drama. While still being at school she enrolled in theatre and worked at Phillip Street Theatre in Sydney and later at Australian Theatre for Young People. Encouraged by director, Jane Campion, she landed up with roles in “Bush Christmas” in 1983 and went on to work in few more television series “BMX Bandits” and “Five Mile Creek” and much more. Her work in “Vietnam” won her the Australian Film Institute Award.

Her first breakthrough in the US films came with “Dead Calm” in 1989. The following year her movie “Days of Thunder” became the highest-grossing movie of the year. She earned her first Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in “Billy Bathgate”.

In 1995 she shot to international fame with her blockbuster movie “Batman Forever”. Her real breakthrough in Hollywood, however, came with her next movie “To Die For” the same year. She was noticed for her impressive range and comic timings and won her critical acclaims. She took home her first Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and five other best actress awards.

She received her next Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and an Academy Award nomination in 2001 for her performance in the musical “Moulin Rouge!”. Her portrayal of “Virginia Woolf” in the 2002 movie “The Hours” won over both the audiences and critics. It also brought her, her first Academy Award, along with Golden Globe and number of other honors.
It was the first time when an actor had received Oscars for a short role in a film; her role had lasted for only 25 minutes in this movie.

With her success in Hollywood she became the face of the Chanel No. 5 perfume. She made news when she was paid US$12million for appearing in the 3-minute commercial of the perfume, making her the most money paid per minute actor. She has also lent voice to animation movie “Happy Feet”.

She was honored with Companion of the Order of Australiaby the Australian government for her contributions to the art, and her humanitarian efforts in Australia and around the world.

By: Darius Maslow