This Australian actress and producer often stands out in a crowd due to her fiery red locks and porcelain skin, but mostly it’s because she’s one of Hollywood’s most famed A-list celebrities. She’s well known for her critically acclaimed roles in The Hours, Moulin Rouge!, Vietnam, To Die For, Cold Mountain and The Others — just to name a few. Kidman rose to fame alongside her ex-husband, stunt man and action movie actor, Tom Cruise, after working on the film Days of Thunder, the first of three films they starred in together. Now that she’s peaked in her success, she is happily remarried to popular country singer, Keith Urban, and these two are easily the cutest couple on any red carpet. In honor of her birthday today, here’s a look at 10 things you might not have known about Nicole Kidman!
10. Born in Hawaii
One of the most distinct features about Nicole Kidman is her Australian accent! However, fans might be surprised to learn that she was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was born in 1967 to her Australian parents, Janelle Ann who was a nursing instructor and Antony David Kidman who was a biochemist and clinical psychologist. Right after Nicole was born, her parents relocated to Washington D.C., but when she was 3-years-old they moved back to Australia and this is where she primarily grew up. She now has dual citizenship.
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9. She’s a High School Dropout
Nicole Kidman is one of the most successful, critically acclaimed and well recognized actresses in Hollywood with plenty of notable roles under her belt. Kidman is a natural in the arts department; she was involved in ballet and school plays from a young age and she excelled at it! Her first stage role was in an elementary school Christmas pageant as a bleating sheep. As a teenager she took on a few more serious roles and focused primarily on acting. She regularly attended the Philip Street Theater to practice her craft. She was so good at acting and received so much praise and encouragement that she decided to drop out of high school to pursue it full-time. She landed her first acting role when she was only 16-years-old in the Australian holiday movie, Bush Christmas. (Fun fact: She was teased in high school for her height and her fellow students nicknamed her ‘stalky’).
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8. Trail Blazer
In 2003, Nicole Kidman was not only a three-time Oscar nominee, but she also became the first Australian actress to win an Oscar for Best Actress. She took home the gold statue for her role as the leading lady in The Hours.
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7. She’s a UN Goodwill Ambassador
Not only is Nicole Kidman a great actress, mother and wife, but she’s also an activist! In 2006, Nicole was appointed a United Nation’s Goodwill Ambassador for her work on raising awareness for women’s human rights around the world, particularly focusing on violence against women. In an interview she said, “Working with UN Women, I have met women who had to overcome enormous obstacles, yet who went on to help others and organize to achieve social change. To me, these women embody resilience, strength, dignity — and hope.”
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6. She’s a Mother of Four
Fans of Kidman will remember Nicole’s first marriage to Tom Cruise. The two Hollywood actors wed in 1990, but split 11 years later in 2001 and claimed their breakup was due to career conflicts. The couple shared two adopted children together, a son named Connor Cruise and a daughter Isabella Jane Cruise. Soon after their divorce, she married Keith Urban and had two more children with the singer, Faith Margaret Kidman Urban and Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, who was born via a surrogate. Today, her two adopted children with Cruise are teenagers and they have chosen to live with him in Los Angeles while Kidman lives in Nashville with Urban and their biological daughters.
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5. Injured While Filming Moulin Rouge!
During the production of Moulin Rouge!, Nicole fractured two ribs and injured her knee while practicing a dance number for the film. Production came to a halt for two weeks and many of her scenes had to be shot from the waist up including the performance, ‘A real actress!’ because she was in a wheelchair. She was supposed to take on the lead role in Panic Room after Moulin Rouge! wrapped up, but because of her injuries she was replaced with Jodie Foster. Instead she played the voice of Jodie Foster’s divorced husband’s wife.
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4. She’s Self Taught
Nicole has taken on many movie roles throughout her career which spans over 30 years. She definitely doesn’t shy away from a challenge and what makes her such a great actress is her serious dedication to each and every role and ability to mold herself into a character. She has taught herself various skills like how to twirl, throw knives and even took a taxidermy class to prep for her role in Paddington. For the film Queen of the Desert she learned how to ride camels. She learned how to sing for Moulin Rouge!, Happy Feet, and Nine, but in Windrider she lip-synced. The most impressive is teaching herself how to write with her right-hand, despite being left-handed. This particular feat was for her role as the famed right-handed author Virginia Woolf in The Hours. Nicole is also well credited for doing her own stunts and nude scenes in films.
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3. She’s Against Botox
Not only is Nicole Kidman extremely adamant that she’s never had Botox and that she doesn’t plan on having any in the future, she is openly against it. We must admit, for an actress who just turned 50 she looks pretty damn good! During an interview she shared a few secrets on how she keeps her face looking fresh and why she’s so against Botox: “For an actor, facial expressions and emotions are really important. That’s why I’ll never have Botox. I’ve always been against that and seeing Botox on TV with all the swelling and pain put me off it anyway. The directors always allow actors with Botox but I just say, ‘No way, not for me.’ Drinking lots of water, eating fruit and doing yoga is what keeps me looking young naturally. I swear by it. I also use creams with natural ingredients to make wrinkles less visible. Everybody should try these things rather than going the plastic route, which I just hate.” It’s also important to note that Nicole is extremely protective of her fair skin which is a huge factor in keeping her skin healthy! Her friend Naomi Watts has said that Nicole won’t cross the street without a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen!
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2. She’s a Writer
In addition to acting, Nicole is also a talented writer. In her spare time she likes to write short stories and hopes to one day have them published. Nicole is quoted as saying, “My parents thought it was nice to develop my imagination, but they never seriously thought that anything would ever come of it. They said that I couldn’t be an actress because I would be taller than all my leading men, so I thought I would be a writer instead.” She also stated that her father encouraged her to consider a career in journalism because she had such great writing skills. When she was younger, she used to keep a diary which she continues to maintain and she now fills notebooks with her writings. While in Australia in 2014, she revealed she was working on her first screenplay for a feature film.
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1. Biggest Fear
We’ve heard of people’s strange fears, but Nicole’s definitely takes the cake! Her biggest fear is of butterflies! She has stated that she can’t stand the flapping of their wings and their ability to fly together in swarms. Despite this odd phobia, she did agree to appear in a commercial for Omega Butterfly where she kind-of faced her fears by standing in front of some paper butterflies. She’s also known for being extremely shy. Now that she’s older she’s grown out of it a bit, but she still fears walking into a crowded restaurant or attending a party solo.
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