Keith Urban
Keith Urban performing at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan 2 November 2007
Background information
Birth name	Keith Lionel Urban[1]
Born	(1967-10-26) 26 October 1967 (age 44) Whangarei, New Zealand
Origin	Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
Genres	Country, country rock, southern rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Banjo, piano, bass, mandolin, bouzouki, Ebow, drums, sitar
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Capitol Records Nashville
Associated acts	The Ranch, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, Dann Huff, Radney Foster, John Butler Trio, John Mayer, Trisha Yearwood, Nelly Furtado, John Fogerty, Bon Jovi, Carrie Underwood, Richard Marx
Website	KeithUrban.net

Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is a Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age. In 1991, he released a self-titled debut album, and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States in 1992. Eventually, Urban found work as a session guitarist before starting a band known as The Ranch, which recorded one studio album on Capitol Records and charted two singles on the Billboard country charts.

Still signed to Capitol, he made his solo American debut in 1999 with the album Keith Urban. Certified platinum in the U.S., it also produced his first American Number One in "But for the Grace of God". His breakthrough hit was the Number One "Somebody Like You", from his second Capitol album Golden Road (2002). This album also earned Urban his first Grammy Award win for "You'll Think of Me", its fourth single and the fourth Billboard Number One of his career. 2004's Be Here, his third American album, produced three more Number Ones, and became his highest-selling album, earning 4× Multi-Platinum certification. Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing was released in 2006, producing the record-setting No.17 country chart debut of "Once in a Lifetime", as well as Urban's second Grammy for the song "Stupid Boy", while a Greatest Hits package entitled Greatest Hits: 18 Kids followed in late 2007. This album was re-released a year later as Greatest Hits: 19 Kids with one track added: the number one "You Look Good in My Shirt", which he had previously recorded on Golden Road. Additional albums Defying Gravity and Get Closer were released on 31 March 2009 and 16 November 2010, respectively.

Urban has released a total of nine studio albums (one of which was released only in the United Kingdom), as well as one album in The Ranch. He has charted more than fifteen singles on the U.S. country charts, including fourteen Number Ones. Urban plays acoustic and electric guitar, as well as banjo, bass guitar, mandolin, piano, sitar, bouzouki and drums.

Life and career[link]

Background[link]

Keith Urban

Keith Lionel Urban was born in Whangarei, New Zealand but later moved and lived with his parents in Caboolture, Queensland, Australia. By age six, Urban was already thinking about getting into the music business. He began learning the techniques at age seven and began winning young singing contests by age eight.

A few years later he began to make inroads into the Australian country music scene with regular appearances on the Reg Lindsay Country Homestead TV Program, Mike McClellan's Music Program and various other TV Programs performing in duet with Jenny Wilson, local Brisbane girl with whom he won a golden guitar award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. He also performed regularly on stage at the Northern Suburbs Country Music Club near Caboolture.

In 1990, Urban signed with EMI in Australia and recorded his first solo album, which charted four No. 1 country hits in Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. Urban toured as a back-up to Slim Dusty in 1993-4. In the mid 1990s, Dusty and Urban recorded a re-worked duet of Dusty's classic "Lights on the Hill" and Urban appeared for the first time at the Grand Ole Opry backing Dusty.^[2]

In 1992, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he found work as a guitarist for Brooks & Dunn and can be seen backing Alan Jackson in his music video for "Mercury Blues". Later, Urban formed The Ranch, a three-piece group that released one album in 1997. Originally the front man for The Ranch, Urban disbanded the group to pursue a solo career in 1998. In 1999, Urban found "Vocal Coach to the Stars" Brett Manning, and worked with him up until 2001.

In August 2000, Urban was the first male New Zealand performer to reach the top 10 on the U.S. country chart with "Your Everything". At the time he was spelling his name "keith urban".^[3]

In Nashville, Urban became a frequent user of cocaine.^[4] After reaching a personal nadir in 1998, he became determined to give up the habit and checked into Cumberland Heights, a treatment center in Nashville. After cleaning up, Urban released his self-titled American debut in 1999, which produced three top 5 hits and secured for him the Top New Male Vocalist Award at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards and the 2001 Country Music Association's Horizon Award. Widely regarded for his guitar skills, has performed as a session musician on albums such as Garth Brooks' Double Live, Dixie Chicks' Fly, and Paul Brandt's This Time Around.^{[citation needed]}

Urban performed "Lights on the Hill" for Tamworth's 2004 tribute concert following the death of Australia's Slim Dusty, an artist whom Urban had both written for and covered.^[5][6]

Urban was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards.^[7][8]

[edit] Golden Road & Be Here

Urban released Golden Road in 2002, and the success of the single "Somebody Like You" sent his career into high gear. Touring as a supporting act for renowned country acts Brooks & Dunn, Martina McBride and Kenny Chesney honed Urban's skills and stage-craft. Country video channel CMT signed on as the title sponsor of Urban's first headlining arena tour titled Keith Urban Be Here '04 with opening act Katrina Elam. Urban continued his meteoric rise to fame in 2005 with a very successful tour with Elam called Alive in '05. He performed in the Live 8 Philadelphia concert on 2 July 2005 and had been selected by The Gap to appear alongside seven other musical artists in their "Favorites" campaign. He was named the 2005 CMA's Male Vocalist of the Year. He released a DVD in late September 2005 entitled Livin' Right Now, recorded in at the Wiltern Theater in California in December 2004.

In 2005 Urban performed in front of European audiences for the first time. In May Urban supported Bryan Adams on his UK and Ireland tour, which included dates in Earls Court, London, SECC, Glasgow and The Point, Dublin. On 6 June a UK only album, Days Go By was released, this album contained songs from both Be Here and Golden Road .

In October, Urban returned for a headlining tour with Nerina Pallot and Richard Winsland as support acts.

Urban has recently performed "Better Life" on the CMA Awards and "You'll Think of Me" on the American Music Awards. He also performed at the Grammys playing "You'll Think of Me" and "The Lucky One" with Faith Hill. At the 2006 ACM Awards Urban performed "Tonight I Wanna Cry" and played guitar for Brooks & Dunn's song "Believe."

[edit] Love, Pain, & The Whole Crazy Thing

On Monday 21 August 2006, Urban made history when his new single "Once in a Lifetime" debuted at #17, setting a new record for the highest-debuting country single in the 62-year history of Billboard's country charts. The record was formerly held by Garth Brooks' "Good Ride Cowboy" and Eddie Rabbitt's "Every Which Way But Loose", both of which debuted at #18. "Good Ride Cowboy" was the highest in the BDS era (1990–present). The song however would soon be beaten by Kenny Chesney's Don't Blink, which debuted at #16, and later Garth Brooks' "More Than A Memory", which debuted at #1.

Urban is also a winner of numerous "Golden Guitars", which are presented annually during the Tamworth Country Music Festival at "The Country Music Association of Australia's Annual Awards" in Tamworth, New South Wales Australia. He is also a former winner of the Toyota Starmaker Contest, which is held each year in conjunction with the CMAA Awards and the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Keith was named artist of the month for July 2007 on the television network GAC (Great American Country). He answered a question of the day every day that month, and did multiple interviews about love, life, his new album and his stay in rehab.

On 7 July 2007, Keith performed with Alicia Keys at one of Al Gore's Live Earth concerts held around the world. The concerts were held to raise awareness of global warming. Keith performed at the concert held in New York City and said in an interview that global warming is not a political issue, and what he is doing to help the environment is running all bio-diesel buses in his Love, Pain and The Whole Crazy World Tour.

Urban released his first greatest hits collection, Greatest Hits: 18 Kids, on 20 November 2007. The CD contains all of his top 10 hits, along with two new songs, "Romeo's Tune" and "Got It Right This Time (The Celebration)."

In January 2008, Urban embarked on the Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour with fellow country singer Carrie Underwood. In early May 2008, Urban debuted a new song at the Grand Ole Opry titled "A New Sunshine". And in late May 2008, Urban re-recorded a song from his sophomore CD, "You Look Good in My Shirt". The song was released on the radio at the end of May. "Over the years it ("You Look Good In My Shirt") has always played like a hit song," said Keith. "That, combined with numerous requests from both fans and radio about why it was never a single, inspired us to get back into the studio and re-record the song."(keithurban.net) The single was a pre-cursor to the "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy World Tour" concert DVD release in the Fall of '08. Urban's newest release "Defying Gravity" was released 31 March 2009.

"You Look Good in My Shirt" was the first single from Keith Urban's re-recorded 2007 album, Greatest Hits: 18 Kids. The album was released under a different title, Greatest Hits: 19 Kids on 19 August 2008. Keith Urban was also featured on Brad Paisley's instrumental album titled Play, on a song called "Start a Band."

[edit] Defying Gravity

Urban recently announced that the lead single for his forthcoming 5th studio album will be titled "Sweet Thing". This song became the first No.1 single off the album. The song was co-written with Monty Powell, who wrote some of Urban's past hits, and co-produced with his longtime producer Dann Huff. The album, Defying Gravity, was released on 31 March 2009, through Capitol Records. Its second single, "Kiss a Girl",^[9] debuted in March 2009. Urban performed this song on American Idol, during the season 8 finale, as a duet with eventual winner Kris Allen. Its third single, "Only You Can Love Me This Way", is another chart-topping song, co-written by Steve McEwan and John Reid.^[10] Defying Gravity debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200. This was Urban's first No.1 CD. His past two albums debuted at #3.

Keith Urban has received four nominations on the 2009 CMA Awards, including Entertainer Of The Year and Male Vocalist Of The Year for a fourth consecutive year in a row. He also earned a nomination for Album Of The Year for Defying Gravity and shares a nomination with Brad Paisley for Music Video Of The Year for "Start A Band".

A video for "Hit The Ground Runnin'" premiered on 2 October on CMT and CMT.com.

Urban's 2009 Escape Together tour, supporting the album, Defying Gravity, featured many big name opening acts, including Taylor Swift, Sugarland, and Jason Aldean. On 27 June 2009 Keith filmed a video for the song, "Only You Can Love Me This Way", at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

On 5 May 2010, whilst being interviwed by CNN about the flooding in Nashville, Urban stated that he was about to begin recording a new album, but all his guitars were now underwater.

Urban's 2010 Summer Lovin' tour consisted of mostly festival shows.

[edit] Get Closer

In May 2010, Urban entered the studio to begin work on a new album.^[11] The recording process was documented in a blog on his official website. At the beginning of September, it was announced that the album would be titled Get Closer and would see release on 16 November. At the same time, "Put You in a Song" was revealed to be the first single and was released digitally and to radio on 13 September.^[12]

Keith Urban appeared at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on 10 November 2010.^[13]

To promote the new album, Keith played surprise concerts at New York City's Penn Station as well as a train station in Philadelphia. The impromptu concerts included a 4-song set list mixing in new and old hits.

On 30 November, Keith played a free concert at The Ice Palace of the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Fans lined up days in advance to hear him play the first single (Put You in a Song) from "Get Closer" and a short collection of past hits. He also played a tribute to Johnny Cash with "Folsom Prison Blues" and Steve Miller's "The Joker"

On 15 December, After appearing on Oprah's Australian special, Keith decided to play an acoustic set in Pitt St Mall in Sydney. There he played in front of 2500+ people. He also called up a young fan to play his single Put You In a Song.

Urban announced the "Get Closer – World Tour 2011", an Australian, American and Canadian tour in support of the album. His American tour features country artist Jake Owen supporting. The Canadian leg features The Band Perry as the opening act.

Urban also recorded a song titled "For You," which was featured as the theme song of the 2012 action film Act of Valor. It also appears on the film's soundtrack.

On 10 April 2012, Urban was asked to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry by Vince Gill at the third annual "All for the Hall" benefit concert which Urban organized. He will be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on 21 April 2012.

[edit] The Voice

On 23 November 2011, Urban was confirmed as one of the four vocal coaches in the upcoming Australian version of the reality singing competition The Voice.^[14]

Personal life[link]

Starting in 1992, Urban dated veterinary technician Laura Sigler for eight years. Urban proposed to Sigler in 2001, but the pair eventually split in 2002.^{[citation needed]}

Urban met Australian actress Nicole Kidman at G'Day LA, a Hollywood event honoring Australians, in January 2005, but they reportedly didn't begin dating until 6 months later. Kidman and Urban were married on Sunday, 25 June 2006, at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel on the grounds of St Patrick's Estate, Manly in Sydney.

On 19 October 2006, Urban checked himself into the Betty Ford Center in California. On 20 October, Urban issued a statement saying: "I deeply regret the hurt this has caused Nicole and the ones who love and support me. One can never let one's guard down on recovery, and I'm afraid that I have." On 18 January 2007, Urban announced his completion of rehab and his plans to go on tour to promote his new album, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing.^[15]

On 2 February 2007, Urban filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey painter by the same name, who has a web site KeithUrban.com. The singer wanted to acquire the rights to the URL.^[16] Keith Urban the singer's URL is KeithUrban.NET. The painter counter sued.^[17] The lawsuit was settled in the painter's favor.

On 1 October 2007, while riding, Urban skidded off his motorbike when a paparazzo followed him near his home in Sydney; Urban was not hurt. In a statement released by his publicists, Urban says the incident was "the result of one person's desire to do his job and my desire to maintain my privacy." Urban says he tried to avoid an oncoming car and dropped his bike. He says the photographer came to his assistance without taking photos.

On 7 January 2008, Nicole Kidman confirmed she and Urban were expecting their first child together. Kidman's publicist said "the couple are thrilled and cannot wait." Kidman gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, on 7 July 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee. She weighed 2.93 kg (6 lbs, 7.5 oz). On his website, Urban stated,

"Earlier this morning Nic gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban. We want to thank everybody that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers. We feel very blessed and grateful that we can share this joy with all of you today."^[18][19]

On 28 December 2010, Urban and Kidman welcomed a second daughter, Faith Margaret Kidman Urban, via surrogate at Nashville's Centennial Women's Hospital. The baby is biologically Urban and Kidman's.^[20] On 17 January 2011, Keith posted this statement on his website: "Our family is truly blessed, and just so thankful, to have been given the gift of baby Faith Margaret. No words can adequately convey the incredible gratitude that we feel for everyone who was so supportive throughout this process, in particular our gestational carrier."^[21] Faith's middle name is after Kidman's late grandmother.^[22]

Discography[link]

Keith Urban in Sydney

Studio albums[link]

• Keith Urban (1991)^A
• Keith Urban in The Ranch (1997)
• Keith Urban (1999)
• Golden Road (2002)
• Be Here (2004)
• Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing (2006)
• Defying Gravity (2009)
• Get Closer (2010)

Compilation albums[link]

• Days Go By (2005)
• Greatest Hits: 18 Kids (2007)^B

Number one singles[link]

• "But for the Grace of God" (2001)
• "Somebody Like You" (2002)
• "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" (2003)
• "You'll Think of Me" (2004)
• "Days Go By" (2004)
• "Making Memories of Us" (2005)
• "Better Life" (2005)
• "You Look Good in My Shirt" (2008)
• "Start a Band" (with Brad Paisley) (2009)
• "Sweet Thing" (2009)
• "Only You Can Love Me This Way" (2009)
• "Without You" (2011)
• "Long Hot Summer"(2011)
• "You Gonna Fly" (2012)

^A Released only in Australia, but later re-released independently in 2005.
^B Re-released in 2008 as Greatest Hits: 19 Kids, with one track added.

Tours[link]

Keith Urban in concert, 2007

Official Tours[link]

• Get Closer 2011 World Tour (2011) – supporting his seventh studio album, Get Closer, released on 16 November 2010
• Summer Lovin' 2010 (2010) – supporting his sixth studio album, Defying Gravity, released on 31 March 2009
• Escape Together World Tour 2009 (2009) – supporting his sixth studio album, Defying Gravity, released on 31 March 2009
• Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride (2008) – supporting his fifth studio album, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing touring with Carrie Underwood supporting her album Carnival Ride
• Love, Pain & the Whole crazy World Tour (2007) – supporting his fifth studio album, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing
• Still Alive in 06 (2006) – supporting his fourth studio album, Be Here
• Alive In 05 (2005) – supporting his fourth studio album, Be Here
• Livin' Right Now Tour (2004) – supporting his fourth studio album, Be Here

Supporting Tours[link]

• Eagles Summer 2010 Tour (2010) – touring with The Eagles and The Dixie Chicks. It was announced on 16 March 2010 that Keith will be hitting the road with The Eagles and The Dixie Chicks for a North American stadium concert tour. 5 concert dates have been announced so far, which include Boston, and Chicago.^[23]
• Brooks & Dunn's Neon Circus & Wild West Show 2001

Band[link]

Touring Band[link]

2010–2011[link]

Danny Rader (guitar, ganjo, mandolin, bazouki, piano, organ) has recently been added to Urban's touring band.

2010[link]

After four years with the band, Chris Rodriguez and Brad Rice departed. Coming off the Escape Together World Tour, the two were told Urban would not be mounting big tours for awhile, and that a smaller band was all that was needed. The following band was from 2010 onwards for the CMT Crossroads and the Summerlovin Tour, as well as the tour with The Eagles:

• Keith Urban – lead vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, bass guitar, bouzouki, e-bow, drums
• Chris McHugh – drums, percussion
• Brian Nutter – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals, drums
• Jerry Flowers – bass guitar, piano, acoustic guitar, background vocals

2007–2009[link]

The following band was used for Keith's Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour (2008), Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour (2007) and the Escape Together World Tour (2009):

• Keith Urban – lead vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, bass guitar, bouzouki, e-bow, drums
• Chris McHugh – drums, percussion
• Chris Rodriguez – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals
• Brian Nutter – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals, drums
• Jerry Flowers – bass guitar, piano, acoustic guitar, background vocals
• Brad Rice – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, ganjo, mandolin, background vocals

2005–2006[link]

Jerry Flowers replaced Mark Hill as the bass player. Jerry was a member of The Ranch in 1997 and 1998.

2004[link]

The following band was used for Keith's Be Here 2004 Tour:

• Mark Hill – bass guitar
• Steven King – piano, keyboards
• Chad Jeffers – acoustic guitar, ganjo, mandolin, dobro
• Chris Rodriguez – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, ganjo, mandolin, bass guitar, background vocals
• Chris McHugh – drums, percussion

Pre-2004[link]

The following band was used before 2004

• Peter Clarke – drums
• Jason Mowery – fiddle, mandolin
• Scotty Huff – acoustic guitar, banjo, rhythm guitar
• Tim Horsely – drums
• Robbie Harrington – bass guitar
• Randall Waller
• Jimmy Mattingly
• Millard Powers

Awards & honors[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Keith Urban

• Official website
• Keith Urban at the Internet Movie Database
• Keith Urban at People.com

Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman at the 2010 Country Music Awards
Born	Nicole Mary Kidman (1967-06-20) 20 June 1967 (age 45) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.
Residence	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Citizenship	Australian and American (dual)
Occupation	Actress, singer, producer[1]
Years active	1983–present
Spouse	Tom Cruise (1990–2001) Keith Urban (2006–present)
Children	4
Relatives	Antonia Kidman (sister)
Website
www.nicolekidmanofficial.com

Nicole Mary Kidman, AC (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian actress, singer, film producer,^[1] and humanitarian. Kidman began her career in 1983, starring in various Australian film and television productions until her breakthrough in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm. Following several films over the early 1990s, she came to worldwide recognition for her performances in Days of Thunder (1990), Far and Away (1992), and Batman Forever (1995). Kidman followed this with other successful films in the late 1990s. It was her performance in the musical, Moulin Rouge! (2001) which earned Kidman her second Golden Globe Award and first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Her performance as Virginia Woolf the following year in the drama film The Hours (2002) received critical acclaim and earned Kidman the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Kidman's other notable films include To Die For (1995), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Cold Mountain (2003), The Interpreter (2005), and Australia (2008). Her performance in 2010's Rabbit Hole (which she also produced) earned Kidman further accolades including a subsequent Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Kidman has been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since 1994^[2] and for UNIFEM since 2006.^[3] Kidman's work has earned her a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, three Golden Globe Awards, one BAFTA, and an Academy Award. In 2006, Kidman was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, Australia's highest civilian honor,^[4] and was also the highest-paid actress in the motion picture industry.^[5] As a result of being born to Australian parents in Hawaii, Kidman has dual citizenship in Australia and the United States.^[6]

Early life[link]

Kidman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her parents were in the United States on educational visas at the time. Kidman can thus claim both U.S. and Australian citizenship.^[7] Her father, Dr. Antony David Kidman, is a biochemist, clinical psychologist, and author, with an office in Lane Cove, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.^[8][9] Her mother, Janelle Ann (née Glenny), is a nursing instructor who edits her husband's books and was a member of the Women's Electoral Lobby. Kidman's ancestry includes Scottish and Irish.^[10] At the time of Kidman's birth in 1967, her father was a graduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He soon after became a visiting fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health of the United States. Opposed to the War in Vietnam, which was causing social unrest in both Australia and the United States, Kidman's parents participated in anti-war protests while they were living in Washington, DC.^[11] The family returned to Australia when Kidman was four and her parents now live on Sydney's North Shore. Kidman has a younger sister, Antonia Kidman, a journalist and TV presenter.

Kidman attended Lane Cove Public School and North Sydney Girls' High School. She was enrolled in ballet at three and showed her natural talent for acting in her primary and high school years.^[12] Kidman revealed she was timid as a child, saying, "I am very shy – really shy – I even had a stutter as a kid, which I slowly got over, but I still regress into that shyness. So I don’t like walking into a crowded restaurant by myself; I don’t like going to a party by myself".^[13] In 1984, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, which caused Kidman to temporarily halt her education and help provide for the family by working as a massage therapist at age 17.^[12] She studied at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Victoria, and at the Phillip Street Theatre in Sydney, with actress and friend Naomi Watts who had attended the same high school as she did.^[12][14] This was followed by attending the Australian Theatre for Young People.^[12] Here she took up drama, mime and performing in her teens, finding acting to be a refuge. Due to her fair skin and naturally red hair, the Australian sun forced the young Kidman to rehearse in halls of the theatre. A regular at the Phillip Street Theatre, she received both encouragement and praise to pursue acting full-time.^[15]

Career[link]

1983-1994[link]

In 1983, aged 16, Kidman made her film debut in the Australian holiday season favourite, Bush Christmas.^[15] By the end of 1983, she had a supporting role in the television series Five Mile Creek and began gaining popularity in the mid-1980s after appearing in several film roles, including BMX Bandits, Watch the Shadows Dance, and the romantic comedy Windrider (1986), which earned Kidman attention due to her racy scenes. Also during the decade, she appeared in several Australian productions, including the soap opera A Country Practice and the miniseries Vietnam (1986). She also made guest appearances on Australian television programs and TV movies. She also appeared in Sesame Street.

In 1988, Kidman appeared in Emerald City, based on the play of the same name. The Australian film earned her an Australian Film Institute for Best Supporting Actress. After appearing in the Australian miniseries Bangkok Hilton, Kidman starred in Dead Calm (1989) as Rae Ingram, playing the wife of a naval officer. The thriller garnered strong reviews and brought Kidman to international recognition; Variety commented: "Throughout the film, Kidman is excellent. She gives the character of Rae real tenacity and energy."^[16] Meanwhile, critic Roger Ebert noted the excellent chemistry between the leads, stating, "Kidman and Zane do generate real, palpable hatred in their scenes together."^[17] She moved on to star alongside her then-boyfriend and future husband, Tom Cruise, in the 1990 auto racing film Days of Thunder, playing a young doctor who falls in love with a NASCAR driver. This was Kidman's American debut and was among the highest-grossing films of the year.^[18]

In 1991, she co-starred with former classmate and friend Naomi Watts and Thandie Newton in the independent film Flirting. Kidman and Watts portrayed two high school girls in this coming of age story, which won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film.^[19] That same year, her work in the film Billy Bathgate earned Kidman her first Golden Globe Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress. The New York Times, in its film review, called her "a beauty with, it seems, a sense of humor".^[20] The following year, she and Cruise re-teamed for Ron Howard's Irish epic Far and Away (1992), which was a modest critical^[21][22] and commercial^[23] success. In 1993, she starred in My Life opposite Michael Keaton and the thriller, Malice opposite Alec Baldwin.

1995–2003[link]

In 1995, Kidman appeared in her highest-grossing live-action film as of 2011,^[24] playing Dr. Chase Meridian, the damsel in distress, in the superhero film Batman Forever, opposite Val Kilmer as the film's title character. That same year Kidman appeared in Gus Van Sant's critically acclaimed To Die For, earning praise for her portrayal of murderous newscaster Suzanne Stone Maretto.^[25][26]

Kidman next appeared in The Portrait of a Lady (1996), based on the novel the same name, alongside, Barbara Hershey, John Malkovich and Mary-Louise Parker. The following year she appeared in the action-thriller The Peacemaker (1997) as White House nuclear expert Dr. Julia Kelly, opposite George Clooney. The film received mixed reviews but grossed some $110,000,000 worldwide.^[27][28] That same year she appeared opposite Sandra Bullock in the poorly received fantasy Practical Magic as a modern-day witch.^[29] Kidman returned to her work on stage the same year in the David Hare play The Blue Room, which opened in London.

In 1999, Kidman reunited with then husband, Tom Cruise, to portray a married couple in Eyes Wide Shut, the final film of Stanley Kubrick. The film opened to generally positive reviews but was subject to censorship controversies due to the explicit nature of its sex scenes.^[30] The film received further attention following Kubrick's death shortly before its release. After brief hiatus and a highly publicized divorce from Cruise,^[31] Kidman returned to the screen to play a mail-order bride in the British-American drama Birthday Girl.

Kidman at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival promoting her film, Moulin Rouge!

In 2001, Kidman appeared in two of her most critically and commercially successful films. In the first she played the cabaret actress and courtesan Satine in Baz Luhrmann's musical Moulin Rouge!, opposite Ewan McGregor. Subsequently, Kidman received her second Golden Globe Award, for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, as well as other acting awards. She also received her first Academy Award nomination, for Best Actress. Also in 2001, she had a well-received starring role in Alejandro Amenábar's Spanish horror film The Others as Grace Stewart. Grossing over $210,947,037 worldwide, the film also earned several Goya Awards award nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Kidman. Additionally she received her second BAFTA and fifth Golden Globe nominations.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Kidman won critical praise for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in Stephen Daldry's The Hours, which also featured Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. Kidman wore prosthetics that were applied to her nose making her almost unrecognisable playing the author during her time in 1920s England, and her bouts with depression and mental illness while trying to write her novel, Mrs. Dalloway. The film earned positive notices and several nominations, including for an Academy Award for Best Picture. The New York Times wrote that, "Kidman tunnels like a ferret into the soul of a woman besieged by excruciating bouts of mental illness. As you watch her wrestle with the demon of depression, it is as if its torment has never been shown on the screen before. Directing her desperate, furious stare into the void, her eyes not really focusing, Ms. Kidman, in a performance of astounding bravery, evokes the savage inner war waged by a brilliant mind against a system of faulty wiring that transmits a searing, crazy static into her brain".^[32] Kidman won numerous critics' awards, including her first BAFTA, third Golden Globe, and the Academy Award for Best Actress. As the first Australian actress to win an Academy Award, Kidman made a teary acceptance speech about the importance of art, even during times of war, saying, "Why do you come to the Academy Awards when the world is in such turmoil? Because art is important. And because you believe in what you do and you want to honour that, and it is a tradition that needs to be upheld."^[33]

Following her Oscar win, Kidman appeared in three very different films in 2003. The first, a leading role in Dogville, by Danish director Lars von Trier, was an experimental film set on a bare soundstage. The second was an adaptation of Philip Roth's novel The Human Stain, opposite Anthony Hopkins. Her third film, Anthony Minghella's war drama Cold Mountain, was a critical and commercial success. Kidman appeared opposite Jude Law and Renée Zellweger, playing Southerner Ada Monroe, who is in love with Law's character and separated by the Civil War. TIME magazine wrote, "Kidman takes strength from Ada's plight and grows steadily, literally luminous. Her sculptural pallor gives way to warm radiance in the firelight".^[34] The film garnered several award nominations and wins for its actors; Kidman received her sixth Golden Globe nomination at the 61st Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress.

2004–2008[link]

In 2004 she appeared in the film, Birth, which received controversy over a scene in which Kidman shares a bath with her co-star, 10-year old Cameron Bright. At a press conference at the Venice Film Festival, Kidman addressed the controversy saying, "It wasn't that I wanted to make a film where I kiss a 10-year-old boy. I wanted to make a film where you understand love".^[35] Though the film received negative to mixed reviews, Kidman earned her seventh Golden Globe nomination, for Best Actress – Motion Picture. That same year she appeared in the black comedy-science-fiction film The Stepford Wives, a remake of the 1975 film of the same name. Kidman appeared in the lead role as Joanna Eberhart, a successful producer. The film, directed by Frank Oz, was critically panned and a commercial failure. The following year, Kidman appeared opposite Sean Penn in the Sydney Pollack thriller The Interpreter, playing UN translator Silvia Broome. Also that year she starred in Bewitched, based on the 1960s TV sitcom of the same name, opposite Will Ferrell. Both Kidman and Ferrell earned that year's Razzie Award for "Worst Screen Couple". Neither film fared well in the United States, with box office sales falling well short of the production costs, but both films fared well internationally.^[36][37]

In conjunction with her success in the film industry, Kidman became the face of the Chanel No. 5 perfume brand. She starred in a campaign of television and print ads with Rodrigo Santoro, directed by Moulin Rouge! director Baz Luhrmann, to promote the fragrance during the holiday seasons of 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. The three-minute commercial produced for Chanel No. 5 made Kidman the record holder for the most money paid per minute to an actor after she reportedly earned US$12million for the three-minute advert.^[38] During this time, Kidman was also listed as the 45th Most Powerful Celebrity on the 2005 Forbes Celebrity 100 List. She made a reported US$14.5 million in 2004–2005. On People magazine's list of 2005's highest paid actresses, Kidman was second behind Julia Roberts, with US$16–17 million per-film price tag.^[39] Nintendo in 2007 announced that Kidman would be the new face of Nintendo's advertising campaign for the Nintendo DS game More Brain Training in its European market.^[40]

Kidman portrayed photographer Diane Arbus in the biography Fur (2006), opposite Robert Downey Jr.. Though the film was released to mixed reviews, both Kidman and Downey Jr. received praise for their performances. She also lent her voice to the animated film Happy Feet (2006), which grossed over US$384 million worldwide. In 2007, she starred in the science-fiction movie The Invasion directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, a remake of the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers that proved a critical and commercial failure. She also played opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black in Noah Baumbach's comedy-drama Margot at the Wedding, released to positive reviews and earning Kidman a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy. She then starred in the commercially successful fantasy-adventure, The Golden Compass (2007), playing the villainous Marisa Coulter. In 2008, she reunited with Moulin Rouge! director Baz Luhrmann in the Australian period film Australia, set in the remote Northern Territory during the Japanese attack on Darwin during World War II. Kidman played opposite Hugh Jackman as an Englishwoman feeling overwhelmed by the continent. Despite the film's mixed reviews, the acting was praised and the movie was a box office success worldwide.^[41] Kidman was originally set to star in the post-World War II German drama, The Reader, working with previous collaborators Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, but due to her pregnancy prior to filming she had to back out.^[42] The role went to Kate Winslet, who ultimately won the Oscar for Best Actress, which Kidman presented to her during the 81st Academy Awards.

2009–present[link]

Kidman at Tropfest 2012

Kidman appeared in the 2009 Rob Marshall musical Nine, portraying the Federico Fellini-like character's muse, Claudia Jenssen. She was featured alongside fellow Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz and Sophia Loren. Kidman's, whose screen time was brief compared to the other actresses, performed the musical number "Unusual Way" alongside Day-Lewis. Although the film was released to mixed reviews, it received several Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, and earned Kidman a third Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, as part of the Outstanding Cast. Also in 2009, Kidman was the face of an international Schweppes advertisement.^[43] In 2010, she starred with Aaron Eckhart in the film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Rabbit Hole, for which she vacated her role in the Woody Allen picture You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger.^[44] She lent her voice to a promotional video that Australia used to support its bid to host the 2018 World Cup. The five-minute video was broadcast at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.^[45]

TV Guide reported in 2008 that Kidman will star in The Danish Girl, a film adaptation of the novel of the same name, playing Lili Elbe, the world's first postoperative transsexual.^[46] Screen Daily reported that shooting would begin in Germany in July 2011.^[47] However the project has been delayed following the exit of the director, Lasse Hallström and Kidman's co-star Rachel Weisz.^[48] In 2009, Variety said that she would produce and star in a film adaptation of the Chris Cleave novel Little Bee, in association with BBC Films.^[49][50]

In June 2010, TV Guide announced that Kidman and Clive Owen will star in an HBO film about Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with Martha Gellhorn. entitled Hemingway & Gellhorn. The film, directed by Philip Kaufman,^[51] began shooting in March 2011, with an air date scheduled for 2012.^[52] She also stars alongside Nicolas Cage in director Joel Schumacher's action-thriller Trespass, with the stars playing a married couple taken hostage.^[53]

On 17 September 2010, ContactMusic. com said Kidman will return to Broadway to portray Alexandra Del Lago in David Cromer's revival of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth, with Scott Rudin producing^[54] On 30 August 2011 Cromer spoke to the The New York Times and explained that the production will not meet its original fall 2011 revival date but that it remains an active project.^[55] In February 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported Kidman is in talks to join the cast of Park Chan Wook's Stoker.^[56] In May 2011 it was reported that Kidman would star and produce in Spectre, a supernatural thriller directed by James Wan. The film closed major territory deals at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.^[57] In June Kidman was cast in Lee Daniels' upcoming adaptation of the Pete Dexter novel, The Paperboy^[58] and began filming the thriller on 1 August 2011.^[59] On 2 November 2011, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Kidman is attached to star in My Wild Life, a Philip Noyce-directed biopic of conservationist, Daphne Sheldrick. Production for the project is scheduled for the first quarter of 2012.^[60]

In April 2012, various sources, including Variety, announced that Kidman was in talks to star in upcoming Grace Kelly biopic Grace of Monaco. The film will focus on the 1962 crisis, in which Charles de Gaulle blockaded the tiny principality, angered by Monaco's status as a tax haven for wealthy French subjects.^[61]

Singing[link]

Her collaboration with Ewan McGregor on "Come What May" peaked at No.27 in the UK Singles Chart.^[62] Later she collaborated with Robbie Williams on "Somethin' Stupid", a cover of Williams' swing covers album Swing When You're Winning. It peaked at No.8 in the Australian ARIAnet Singles Chart, and at No.1 for three weeks in the UK.^[63]

In 2006, while voicing a role in the animated movie Happy Feet, she provided vocals for Norma Jean's "heartsong", a slightly altered version of "Kiss" by Prince.^{[citation needed]} Kidman sang in Rob Marshall's movie musical Nine.

Personal life[link]

Relationships and children[link]

Kidman has been married twice, first to actor Tom Cruise, and then to singer Keith Urban. She has an adopted son and daughter with Cruise, as well as two biological daughters with Urban.

She met Cruise in November 1989 on the set of their 1990 movie Days of Thunder. Kidman and Cruise were married on Christmas Eve 1990 in Telluride, Colorado. The couple adopted a daughter, Isabella Jane (born 22 December 1992),^[64] and a son, Connor Anthony (born 17 January 1995).^[64] On February 5, 2001, the couple's spokesperson announced their separation.^[65] Cruise filed for divorce two days later, and the marriage was dissolved in August of that year, with Cruise citing irreconcilable differences.^[66] Kidman was three months pregnant at the time; shortly afterward, she suffered a miscarriage.^[67] In Marie Claire, Kidman said she had an ectopic pregnancy early in their marriage.^[68] In the June 2006 Ladies' Home Journal, she said she still loved Cruise: "He was huge; still is. To me, he was just Tom, but to everybody else, he is huge. But he was lovely to me and I loved him. I still love him." In addition, she has expressed shock about their divorce.^[69]

Nicole Kidman in August 2006, prior the start of filming as Marisa Coulter in The Golden Compass

Prior to marrying Cruise, Kidman cohabited with Australian stage actor Marcus Graham in the late 1980s.^[70] In the mid-1980s, Kidman dated her Windrider co-star Tom Burlinson,^[71][72] with whom she lived with on and off for three years, according to biographer Andrew Morton.^[73] She dated musician Lenny Kravitz from 2003 to 2004.^[74] Robbie Williams stated that he had a short romance with Kidman on her yacht during the summer of 2004. In a 2007 interview, Kidman revealed that she was secretly engaged to someone between her marriages to Cruise and Urban, but did not identify who.^[75]

Kidman met her second husband, New Zealand country singer Keith Urban, at G'Day LA, an event honouring Australians, in January 2005. They married on 25 June 2006, at Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel in the grounds of St Patrick's Estate, Manly in Sydney.^[76][77] They maintain homes in Sydney, Sutton Forest, New South Wales, Los Angeles, California,^[78] and Nashville, Tennessee.^[79] The couple's daughter, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, was born on 7 July 2008, in Nashville.^[80] Kidman's father said the daughter's middle name was after Urban's late grandmother, Rose.^[81] On 28 December 2010, Kidman and Urban welcomed his second daughter and her third daughter, Faith Margaret Kidman Urban, via gestational carrier^[82] at Nashville's Centennial Women's Hospital. The child is biologically Kidman and Urban's. Faith's middle name is after Kidman's late grandmother.^[83][84]

Religious and political views[link]

Kidman is a practicing Roman Catholic.^[85] She attended Mary Mackillop Chapel in North Sydney. Following criticism of The Golden Compass by Catholic leaders^[86] as anti-Catholic,^[87] Kidman told Entertainment Weekly that "the Catholic Church is part of her 'essence'", and that her religious beliefs would prevent her from taking a role in a film she perceives as anti-Catholic.^[88]

During her divorce from Tom Cruise, she stated that she did not want their children raised as Scientologists.^[89] She has been reluctant to discuss Scientology since her divorce.^[90]

Kidman has donated to U.S. Democratic party candidates.^[91]

Wealth, philanthropy, and honours[link]

Kidman signing autographs at the premier of The Golden Compass in 2007

In 2002, Kidman first appeared on the Australian rich list published annually in the Business Review Weekly with an estimated net worth of A$122 million.^[92] In the 2011 published list, Kidman's wealth was estimated at A$304 million, down from A$329 million in 2010.^[93]

Kidman has raised money for, and drawn attention to, disadvantaged children around the world. In 1994, she was appointed a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF,^[2] and in 2004, she was honoured as a "Citizen of the World" by the United Nations.^{[citation needed]} Kidman joined the Little Tee Campaign for breast cancer care to design T-shirts or vests to raise money to fight the disease;^[94] motivated by her mother's own battle with breast cancer in 1984.^[95]

On Australia Day 2006, Kidman received Australia's highest civilian honor when she was made a Companion of the Order of Australia. The citation acknowledged Kidman's service to the performing arts as an acclaimed motion picture performer, to health care through contributions to improve medical treatment for women and children and advocacy for cancer research, to youth as a principal supporter of young performing artists, and to humanitarian causes in Australia and internationally.^[96]

Kidman was appointed goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in 2006.^[2] In this capacity, Kidman has addressed international audiences at UN events, raised awareness through the media and testified before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs to support the International Violence against Women Act. Kidman visited Kosovo in 2006 to learn about women's experiences of conflict and UNIFEM's support efforts. She is the international spokesperson for UNIFEM's Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women initiative.^[97] Kidman and the UNIFEM executive director presented over five million signatures collected during the first phase of this to the UN Secretary-General on 25 November 2008.^[98]

In the beginning of 2009, Kidman appeared in a series of postage stamps featuring Australian actors. She, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, and Cate Blanchett each appear twice in the series: once as themselves and once as their Academy Award-winning character.^[99] On 8 January 2010, Kidman, alongside Nancy Pelosi, Joan Chen and Joe Torre, attended the ceremony to help Family Violence Prevention Fund break ground on a new international center located in the Presidio of San Francisco.^[100][101]

Filmography[link]

As of November 2010^[update], Kidman's movies have grossed more than $2 billion (US), with 17 movies making more than $100 million.^[102]

Awards[link]

Kidman at 83rd Academy Awards

In 2003, Kidman received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In addition to her 2003 Academy Award for Best Actress, Kidman has received Best Actress awards from the following critics' groups or award-granting organisations: the Hollywood Foreign Press (Golden Globes), the Australian Film Institute, Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, Empire Awards, Golden Satellite Awards, Hollywood Film Festival, London Critics Circle, Russian Guild of Film Critics, and the Southeastern Film Critics Association. In 2003, Kidman was given the American Cinematheque Award. She also received recognition from the National Association of Theatre Owners at the ShoWest Convention in 1992 as the Female Star of Tomorrow and in 2002 for a Distinguished Decade of Achievement in Film.

Government honours[link]

In 2006, Kidman was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), Australia's highest civilian honour, for "service to the performing arts as an acclaimed motion picture performer, to health care through contributions to improve medical treatment for women and children and advocacy for cancer research, to youth as a principal supporter of young performing artists, and to humanitarian causes in Australia and internationally."^[109] However, due to film commitments and her wedding to Urban, it was 13 April 2007 that she was presented with the honour.^[110] It was presented by Governor-General of Australia, Major General Michael Jeffery in a ceremony at Government House, Canberra.^[111]

Discography[link]

• "Come What May" single (Duet with Ewan McGregor – October 2001) AUS #10, UK #27
• "One Day I'll Fly Away" – October 2001 (Moulin Rouge! soundtrack)
• "Sparkling Diamonds" (with Caroline O'Connor) – October 2001 (Moulin Rouge! soundtrack)
• "Hindi Sad Diamonds" – October 2001 (Moulin Rouge! soundtrack)
• "Somethin' Stupid" single (Duet with Robbie Williams – December 2001) AUS #8, UK #1
• "Kiss" / "Heartbreak Hotel" – Nicole Kidman / Hugh Jackman – November 2006 (Happy Feet soundtrack)
• "Unusual Way" – December 2009 (Nine soundtrack)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Thomson, David (2006). Nicole Kidman. Knopf. ISBN 1-4000-4273-9. 

External links[link]

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