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celebrities - Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Mary Kidman (born June 20, 1967) is an Academy Award-winning American-born Australian actress, producer and singer.

 

Biography

Early life and career

Kidman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Dr. Anthony David Kidman and Janelle Ann (nee MacNeille), who were of Scottish and Irish descent, and were both born in Australia. At the time, her father was a cancer research specialist in Washington, D.C. The family returned to Australia when Nicole was four years old, when Tony Kidman took on a lectureship at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Kidman started taking ballet lessons when she was four, and this led to studies at St. Martin's Youth Theatre in Melbourne, the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney, and then at the Philip Street Theatre, where she majored in voice production and theatre history. She studied at North Sydney Girls High School, but dropped out when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer; Kidman concentrated on her family responsibilities until her mother's recovery.

Nicole Kidman as Powder Puff in the 1983 film BMX BanditsHer first appearance on film came in 1983 when, as a 15 year-old, she appeared in the Pat Wilson music video for the song "Bop Girl". By the end of the year she had secured a supporting role in the television series Five Mile Creek, and four film roles, including BMX Bandits and Bush Christmas. During the 1980s she appeared in several Australian movies and TV series, notably including the soap opera A Country Practice, the mini-series Vietnam (1986), Emerald City (1988), and Bangkok Hilton (1989). In 1989 she appeared in the successful thriller Dead Calm as Rae, the wife of naval officer John Ingram (Sam Neill), held captive on a Pacific yacht trip by the psychotic Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane). The role gained her considerable notice in the United States.

Marriage to Tom Cruise

Her American debut was in Days of Thunder (1990), a stock-car racing movie, in which she played opposite Tom Cruise. Although Cruise was married to actress Mimi Rogers at the time, he and Kidman began an affair. Cruise divorced Rogers and the couple married on Christmas Eve of 1990 in Telluride, Colorado. They adopted two children, Isabella and Connor, and lived in Los Angeles, California, Australia, Colorado, and New York.

After ten years, the marriage was dissolved in 2001: there was much media speculation about the reasons for this, but both celebrities maintained their privacy and were guarded in their public comments. One persistent rumour claims however that Kidman's desire to bring up their children Catholic, and her critical views on Scientology caused problems in her marriage with Tom Cruise, who is an outspoken follower of the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard.

 

Hollywood career

After Days of Thunder, Kidman starred with Cruise in Ron Howard's Far and Away (1992).

1995 was to bring much success. Kidman featured in the all-star cast of Batman Forever and later that same year starred in To Die For, a satirical comedy that earned her high praise from critics, and talk of an Academy Award nomination for her performance, although this did not materialize. She did, however, win a Golden Globe award, and five other best actress awards for her comic portrayal of the murderous newscaster Suzanne Stone Maretto.

DVD cover of To Die For depicting Nicole Kidman as Suzanne Stone MarettoKidman and Cruise portrayed a married couple in Eyes Wide Shut in 1999, Stanley Kubrick's final film. It was the third time she had co-starred with Tom Cruise.

Kidman's most professionally successful year thus far is 2001, with her Oscar-nominated performance in Moulin Rouge! and a well-received starring role in the horror film The Others. While in Australia filming Moulin Rouge!, Kidman injured her knee, so that Jodie Foster had to replace her in the Panic Room. The following year Kidman came back to win the same praise from critics for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this role. In the same year she took a hand at production for the film In the Cut.

In 2004, Kidman appeared in the remake of The Stepford Wives alongside Glenn Close, Faith Hill and Bette Midler. In September of the same year, Birth, in which the 37-year-old actress' character falls in love with a 10-year-old boy (played by Cameron Bright) who attempts to convince her that he is a reincarnation of her dead husband, met with a mixed reception. Despite this, the film was nominated for the prestigious Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival.

Kidman is author Philip Pullman's number-one choice to play Mrs. Coulter in the proposed film version of the first volume of the His Dark Materials trilogy.

 

Awards

Film awards

Kidman won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours: for the same film she won a BAFTA award. Kidman was nominated in 2002 for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the Academy Award winning musical, Moulin Rouge!.

She has also been nominated seven times for a Golden Globe, the first time being in 1992 for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. Kidman won her first of three Golden Globes in 1996 for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical Motion Picture for the film To Die For, her second win was in 2002 again for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical Motion Picture for Moulin Rouge!, her third win was in 2003 in the Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture for the film The Hours. She was nominated four consecutive times in the Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture Golden Globe, in the years 2002-2005, for the following films in chronological order: The Others, The Hours, Cold Mountain, and most recently Birth.

Kidman has won one British Academy Award (BAFTA), it was for her performance in The Hours. She was nominated for the BAFTA two other times, in 2002 and 1996. In 2003, Kidman was given the American Cinematheque Award. She won two MTV Movie Awards in 2002 for Moulin Rouge!. She has been nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2003, Kidman received her Star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California.

In addition to those accolades, Kidman has received Best Actress awards from the folowing critics' groups or award giving organizations: Australian Film Institute, Berlin International Film Festival, Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, Boston Society of Film Critics, Broadcast Film Critics Association, Empire Movie Awards, Golden Satellite Awards, Hollywood Film Festival, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, Las Vegas Film Critics Society, London Critics Circle, Prestige Academy of Motion Pictures & Television, Russian Guild of Film Critics, Seattle International Film Festival, and the Southeastern Film Critics Association.

Charitable work

Kidman publicly supports a variety of charities and causes. She has been a high profile Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF Australia since 1994. She has worked to help raise money for and draw attention to the plight of and the most disadvantaged children in Australia and around the world. In (2004) she was honoured as a "Citizen of the World" by the United Nations. Kidman was selected as the New South Wales Australian of the Year 2005. In 2005 she visited the tsunami-hit regions of SE Asia.

Movies in production

Emma's War, Fur, American Darlings, Wedding Season, and the animated musical Happy Feet are future movies for Kidman. Kidman was cast in The Producers but had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts. She was replaced by Uma Thurman. Eucalyptus would have been Kidman's first native film since Moulin Rouge! but filming was halted after producer Russell Crowe determined that the script needed to be re-written. The current movie starring Kidman out in 2005 is Bewitched, a revamped version of the classic sitcom. She just finished filming the Diane Arbus bio-pic Fur, and is currently filming Oliver Hirschbiegel's science fiction movie, The Visiting in Washington D.C. There is a rumour that Kidman may star in an upcoming yet-to-be titled Baz Luhrmann Australian period film.

Singing





Nicole Kidman and Robbie Williams in the "Something Stupid" music videoNot known as a singer prior to Moulin Rouge!, Kidman had several well received vocal performances in the film. Her collaboration with Ewan McGregor on the song Come What May, from the film's soundtrack debuted and peaked at 27 in the UK Singles Chart. Later, she collaborated with Robbie Williams on the song Somethin' Stupid, a cover of the old swing song on Williams' swing covers album Swing When You're Winning, debuting and peaking at 8 in the Australian ARIAnet Singles Chart, and at number 1 for three weeks in the UK, also becoming the UK Christmas number 1 Single for 2001. She was reportedly offered a recording contract from a very high-profile record company following the success of Moulin Rouge!, but turned it down, believing that a full-time singing career was not her destined path.

Other notes

A female shark under GPS observation in South Africa is named after her.


As Kidman was born in Hawaii, she is an American citizen by birth. She has dual nationality and carries both Australian and U.S. passports.


Kidman's sister Antonia is an entertainment reporter for an Australian television program, and also has her own very successful parenting program title 'The Little Things' set to be syndicated around the world.


Kidman is also a well renowned fashion paradigm and a frequent "Best Dressed" staple.




In August 2004, the Australian magazine BRW listed Kidman as the richest Australian woman under the age of 40, with an estimated worth of 155 million A$ (Australian dollars), or $107 million in United States dollars.


In January 2005, Kidman won interim restraining orders against two Sydney-based paparazzi photographers.


Listed 45th Most Powerful Celebrity on the 2005 Forbes Celebrity 100 List. She made a reported $14.5 million in 2004-2005.


Is known as one of the few A-list actresses who take risks on smaller indie/art films, doing Dogville in 2003 and Birth in 2004.


Celebrity News reports that Nicole Kidman is engaged to Keith Urban and pregnant with his child.

Statistics

Height:179cm Weight:60kg

 

Filmography

BMX Bandits (1983)


Bush Christmas (1983)




Wills & Burke (1985)


Archer's Adventure (1985)


Windrider (1986)


Watch the Shadows Dance (1987)


The Bit Part (1987)




Emerald City (1988)


Dead Calm (1989)


Days of Thunder (1990)


Flirting (1991)


Billy Bathgate (1991)


Far and Away (1992)




Malice (1993)


My Life (1993)


To Die For (1995)


Batman Forever (1995)


The Leading Man (1996)


The Portrait of a Lady (1996)




The Peacemaker (1997)


Practical Magic (1998)


Eyes Wide Shut (1999)


Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) (documentary)


Moulin Rouge! (2001)


The Others (2001)




Birthday Girl (2001)


The Stepford Wives (2004)


Panic Room (2002) (voice only)


The Hours (2002)


Dogville (2003)


Dogville Confessions (2003) (documentary)




The Human Stain (2003)


Cold Mountain (2003)


The Stepford Wives (2004)


Birth (2004)


The Interpreter (2005)


Bewitched (2005)




Fur (2006) (currently in post-production)


Happy Feet (2006) (voice) (currently filming)


The Visiting (2006) (currently filming)


The Lady from Shanghai (2006) (currently in pre-production)


Emma's War (2006) (currently in pre-production)


American Darlings (2006) (currently in pre-production) (also as executive producer)




Wedding Season (2006) (announced)


The Land of The Setting Sun (2007) (announced)

TV Work

Skin Deep (1983)


Chase Through the Night (1983)


Five Mile Creek (1983-1985)




Matthew and Son (1984)


Winners (1985) (miniseries)


Room to Move (1987)


An Australian in Rome (1987)


Vietnam (1987) (miniseries)


Bangkok Hilton (1989) (miniseries)

celebrities - Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage (born January 7, 1964) is an American actor.

Born Nicholas Kim Coppola in Long Beach, California to August Coppola, an Italian American writer and professor, and Joy Vogelsang, a German American dancer. In 1976, Cage's parents divorced and he moved to Beverly Hills with his father. He is the nephew of both Francis Ford Coppola and Talia Shire.

Cage changed his name early in order to try to make his own way in acting without benefiting from his uncle's reputation. He chose the name Cage after the Marvel comic book hero Luke Cage, Power Man.

He had a small role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) (credited under the Coppola name), most of which ended on the cutting room floor. His next notable roles were in the 1983 movies Rumble Fish and Valley Girl, which was his breakout role.

He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Leaving Las Vegas (1995). He has developed a reputation for alternating roles in action movies with more serious character-driven dramas, as well as the occasional black comedy.

He has a son, Weston Coppola Cage (born 1990), by model Kristina Fulton. On April 8, 1995 he married actress Patricia Arquette. They divorced on May 18, 2001. On August 10, 2002 he married Lisa Marie Presley and filed for divorce less than four months later. They divorced on May 16, 2004. He married former waitress Alice Kim on July 30, 2004, in a private ceremony in northern California. He has another son, Kal-el Coppola Cage (born October 3, 2005 in New York City), by the latter.

Cage is an immense Elvis fan.

He also is a big fan of comic books, with his favorite character being Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider, a carnival motorcyclist bent on revenge. In (July 2005), he landed the role of Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider's alter ego. The Ghost Rider movie is slated for 2006.

 

Filmography

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)


Valley Girl (1983)


Rumble Fish (1983)


Racing with the Moon (1984)


The Cotton Club (1984)




Birdy (1984)


The Boy in Blue (1986)


Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)


Raising Arizona (1987)


Moonstruck (1987)


Never on Tuesday (1988) (Cameo)




Vampire's Kiss (1989)


Time to Kill (1990)


Fire Birds (1990)


Wild at Heart (1990)


Zandalee (1991)


Red Rock West (1992)




Honeymoon in Vegas (1992)


Deadfall (1993)


Amos & Andrew (1993)


A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary)


Guarding Tess (1994)




It Could Happen to You (1994)


Trapped in Paradise (1994)


Kiss of Death (1995)


Leaving Las Vegas (1995)


The Rock (1996)


Sean Connery, an Intimate Portrait (1997) (documentary)




Con Air (1997)


Face/Off (1997)


City of Angels (1998)


Snake Eyes (1998)


Junket Whore (1998) (documentary)


8mm (1999)




Bringing Out the Dead (1999)


The Family Man (2000)


Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)


Welcome to Hollywood (2000) (documentary)


Italian Soldiers (2001) (documentary)


Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)




Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001) (voice)


Windtalkers (2002)


Sonny (2002) (also director and producer)


Adaptation. (2002)


Matchstick Men (2003)


National Treasure (2004)




Lord of War (2005) (also producer)


The Weather Man (2005)


Ghost Rider (2006) (currently in post-production)


The Wicker Man (2006) (currently filming) (also producer)


Ant Bully (2006) (voice) (currently filming)


Untitled Oliver Stone/September 11 Project (2006) (currently in pre-production)




Amarillo Slim (2006) (currently in pre-production) (also producer)


Time Share (2006) (currently announced start of production) (also producer)

Young people reading a lot less

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:14:00 GMT
Boston Globe - When the media made a celebrity of J.K. Rowling, 10 million people bought her book. Oprah Winfrey put 'Anna Karenina' on the best-seller list. Third, our lives are completely cluttered with a million gadgets." IS YOUR TEEN READING LESS? What are the ...

Kidman tells court of paparazzi chase

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:14:00 GMT
Boston Globe - SYDNEY, Australia -- Nicole Kidman told a courtroom Monday how she was reduced to tears and feared a car accident after a celebrity photographer pursued her two years ago. Kidman, who divides her time between Los Angeles and her hometown of Sydney ...

Young people reading a lot less

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:14:00 GMT
Boston Globe - When the media made a celebrity of J.K. Rowling, 10 million people bought her book. Oprah Winfrey put 'Anna Karenina' on the best-seller list. Third, our lives are completely cluttered with a million gadgets." IS YOUR TEEN READING LESS? What are the ...

Car chase left Kidman 'in tears' (CNN.com)

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:32:31 GMT
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Nicole Kidman told a courtroom Monday how she was reduced to tears and feared a car accident after a celebrity photographer pursued her two years ago.

Young people reading a lot less

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:14:00 GMT
Boston Globe - When the media made a celebrity of J.K. Rowling, 10 million people bought her book. Oprah Winfrey put 'Anna Karenina' on the best-seller list. Third, our lives are completely cluttered with a million gadgets." IS YOUR TEEN READING LESS? What are the ...

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