Nicole Kidman

SCREEN QUEEN

Although A-list Aussie, Nicole Kidman, leads a seemingly charmed life, it’s marriage, motherhood and her mantelpiece full of awards – including the coveted Oscar – that make this down-to-earth actress so likeable

Should you Google the definition of an ‘A-list movie star’, chances are a suitably stunning picture of Nicole Kidman will appear. Yet though the willowy actress has graced our screens for more than 20 years and marks her 45th birthday this month (on 20 June), she shows no signs of taking things easy. “Good heavens no,” she laughs at the thought of taking time out and coasting for a year or two. “Acting is not all about arriving,” she muses thoughtfully. “I’ve had moments where they’ve said, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s arrived’. After my role in To Die For, I was told that yes, it would now begin. But the truth is it never begins. And hopefully it doesn’t end. There are just moments when you’re given more opportunities and sometimes less. And you know that, particularly as a female actress. You just say, ‘How long will it last?’”

Genuinely modest, to the casual observer it does seem as if Nicole was blessed with all the tools for Hollywood stardom. Her career trajectory since her on-screen debut, aged 16 in Aussie kids flick Bush Christmas, has been steady and relentless. Yet even as a shy young girl, Nicole was determined to act after she was encouraged by her tutors at the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney. She recalls, “It looked like so much fun. For me, acting was never going to be work. It was like I needed to have a day job because being on stage was too much fun. I was a sensitive child though, and my parents were worried for me – the last thing they wanted was for their child to go in [to an audition] and get hurt.”

Born in Hawaii to Australian parents, her father, Dr Antony Kidman, was a psychologist and her mum, Janelle, a nursing lecturer. She grew up in a close and loving family – her younger sister Antonia is her best friend – in a leafy suburb of well-to-do north Sydney. Of her family’s unwavering support, Nicole says, “When I won the Oscar, I gave it to my mum. She gave me the confidence to go after things. She would listen to me when I thought it was all over. She’s been my rock, so to be able to give her that was my way of saying thank you to her.”

This article has been taken from the June Candis Magazine. To read the rest of this interview, please turn to page 20. If you are not a member, please click here to find out how you can subscribe!