Nicole Kidman, a renowned Australian actress, was born on June 20, 1967, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Anthony and Janelle Kidman, a biochemist and clinical psychologist, and a nursing instructor, respectively. The family relocated to Washington, D.C., where her father pursued his research on breast cancer, before settling in Sydney, Australia, three years later.
Kidman's early life was marked by a passion for the arts, initially focusing on ballet, which she later combined with mime and drama. She made her stage debut as a bleating sheep in an elementary school Christmas pageant and went on to work regularly at the Philip Street Theater, where she received a personal letter of praise and encouragement from Jane Campion, a film student at the time.
As she entered her teenage years, acting became a refuge for Kidman, allowing her to escape the social pressures of high school. She eventually dropped out of school to pursue acting full-time, making her film debut at the age of 16 in the Australian holiday favorite Bush Christmas (1983).
Kidman's early success led to a flurry of film and television offers, including a lead role in BMX Bandits (1983) and a turn as a schoolgirl-turned-protester in the miniseries Vietnam (1987),for which she won her first Australian Film Institute Award. Her breakthrough role in the US came opposite Sam Neill in the thriller Dead Calm (1989).
Kidman's personal life took a dramatic turn when she met Tom Cruise on the set of Days of Thunder (1990),with whom she married on December 24, 1990. Despite her newfound marital status, Kidman continued to focus on her career, appearing in films such as Flirting (1991),Billy Bathgate (1991),and Far and Away (1992).
Her breakthrough performance came with Gus Van Sant's To Die For (1995),for which she won a Golden Globe and several critics' awards. Kidman's versatility as an actress was further demonstrated in films such as The Portrait of a Lady (1996),The Peacemaker (1997),and Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
Throughout her career, Kidman has been open about her family life, discussing her parents' activism and her own experiences as a young woman. She and Cruise adopted two children, Isabella Jane and Connor Antony, before announcing their separation in 2001.
