Just Go with It is a 2011 romantic comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. The film was released on February 11, 2011. The film is based on the 1969 film Cactus Flower, which was adapted from an earlier Broadway stage play written by Abe Burrows, which in turn was based upon the French play Fleur de cactus.

Plot[link]

Danny Maccabee (Adam Sandler) is a successful plastic surgeon in Los Angeles who feigns unhappy marriages to get women, and to avoid romantic commitment that may lead to heartbreak. The only woman aware of his schemes is his office manager and best friend Katherine Murphy (Jennifer Aniston), a divorced mother of two. At a party, Danny meets Palmer (Brooklyn Decker), a sixth grade math teacher, without his wedding ring on, and they have a connection together. The next morning, she finds the ring and assumes he is married. She refuses to date him because her parents divorced due to adultery and does not want to be an adulteress herself.

Instead of telling her the truth, Danny tells her that he is getting divorced from a woman named Devlin, named after Devlin Adams whom Katherine had mentioned was an old college sorority nemesis. Danny tells Palmer that they are getting divorced because she cheated on him with a man named "Dolph Lundgren" (not the actor). Palmer then insists on meeting Devlin. Danny asks Katherine to pose as "Devlin" and they go shopping on Rodeo Drive for new clothes to dress like a trophy wife.

A made-over Katherine/Devlin then meets with Danny and Palmer and gives them her blessing. However, after hearing Katherine talking on the phone with her kids, Palmer assumes that her kids are Danny's as well. Danny then privately meets with Katherine's kids, Maggie (Bailee Madison) and Michael (Griffin Gluck), to get them to play along with the ruse.

Palmer meets the kids, who then blackmail Danny in front of Palmer to take them all to Hawaii. At the airport, they are all surprised by Danny's goofball cousin Eddie (Nick Swardson), who has adopted an Austrian disguise as the "Dolph Lundgren" that Danny had made up earlier. To maintain the lies, Danny and Katherine are forced to bring him along.

At the resort in Hawaii, Danny tells Eddie he is considering asking Palmer to marry him. Katherine and Danny also run into the real-life Devlin Adams (Nicole Kidman) and her husband Ian Maxtone-Jones (Dave Matthews), who allegedly invented the iPod. Because of Katherine and Devlin's long-time rivalry, Katherine introduces Danny as her husband rather than admit she is a single mother.

Later, Palmer decides to spend time with Katherine so that Danny can spend more time with the kids. Danny teaches Michael how to swim, and Katherine and Palmer look on in admiration.

Katherine again runs into Devlin, who invites her and Danny out to dinner. Eddie agrees to take Palmer out to dinner so that Danny can go with Katherine. At dinner, Devlin asks Danny and Katherine to tell each other what they admire most about each other, and, as Danny and Katherine talk, they start to feel a connection. Later, when Palmer and Eddie return from their dinner date, Palmer suggests that she and Danny get married now, since a drunken Eddie had told her about Danny's plans of engagement. Danny and Katherine are both surprised by her proposition, but Danny ultimately agrees. Danny later calls Katherine regarding his confusion, but Katherine says that she will be taking a job in New York City (which she had mentioned to him earlier) to get a fresh start to her life.

The next day, Palmer confronts Katherine about Danny's feelings for her, which Katherine dismisses. Katherine then runs into Devlin at a bar and admits that she pretended being married to Danny to avoid embarrassment. Devlin confesses that she is divorcing Ian because he is gay and also that he did not invent the iPod but made his money after suing the Los Angeles Dodgers after getting hit by a foul ball. Katherine confides in Devlin about being in love with Danny, but then Danny shows up behind her saying that he is not marrying Palmer and that he is in love with Katherine. Meanwhile, on the plane ride back to the mainland, Palmer meets a professional tennis player (Andy Roddick — Brooklyn Decker's real-life husband) who shares her interests. Sometime later, Danny and Katherine get married.

Cast[link]

• Adam Sandler as Dr. Daniel "Danny" Maccabee
• Jennifer Aniston as Katherine Murphy/"Devlin Maccabee"
• Nicole Kidman as Devlin Adams
• Nick Swardson as Eddie Simms/"Dolph Lundgren"
• Brooklyn Decker as Palmer Dodge
• Dave Matthews as Ian Maxtone-Jones
• Bailee Madison as Maggie Murphy/"Kiki Dee Maccabee"
• Griffin Gluck as Michael Murphy/"Bart Maccabee"
• Rachel Dratch as Kirsten Brant
• Kevin Nealon as Adon
• Heidi Montag as Kimberly
• Dan Patrick as Tanner Patrick
• Mario Joyner as Henderson
• Keegan-Michael Key as Ernesto
• Michael Laskin as Mr. Maccabee
• Carol Ann Susi as Mrs. Maccabee
• Rakefet Abergel as Rachel Maccabee
• Keith Middlebrook as Rick North
• Elena Kolpachikova as Katja
• Minka Kelly as Joanna Damon
• Allen Covert as Soul Patch

Production[link]

The film was shot in Los Angeles and the Hawaiian islands of Maui and Kauai between March 2, 2010 and May 25, 2010.^{[citation needed]} The film is deliberately vague about which Hawaiian island its latter portion takes place on; thus, the characters hike across a rope bridge on Maui and arrive in the next scene at a spectacular waterfall on Kauai, rather than the ordinary irrigation dam and pond on Maui where the real-life trail terminates.

The characters stay at an Hawaiian hotel called the Waldorf Astoria. In real life, the film was shot at the Grand Wailea in Maui, which is owned by Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts.^[3]

Release[link]

The film was released in theaters in the United States and Canada on February 11, 2011. The film topped the weekend box office with $30.5 million.^[4] The film grossed a total of $103,028,109 in the United States alone, as well $111,917,482 internationally, bringing a total gross of $214,945,591.^[5] Most of the foreign totals came from Russia, where it grossed $13,174,937.^[6]

Reception[link]

Just Go with It received negative reviews from critics, earning the film a 33 out of 100 on Metacritic.^[7] Based on 131 critic reviews, it holds a 19% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 3.7/10.^[8]

British newspaper The Telegraph named Just Go with It in its "ten worst films of 2011" list, saying it is "a crass and overpopulated remake of Cactus Flower, served up as a mangy romcom of serial deceptions."^[9] Christopher Orr of The Atlantic noted that "the title itself seems a plea for audiences' forbearance" and is part of a disappointing trend involving "the reimagining of good, if perhaps not quite classic, films associated with the latter 1960s and early 1970s."^[10] Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote that Just Go With It "is saved from utter disaster, though, by Jennifer Aniston" who has "expert comic timing" and "plays like a grown-up."^[11]

Home media[link]

Sony Pictures released the DVD and Blu-ray on June 07, 2011. It has so far grossed $14,535,543 in US DVD sales.^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Just Go with It at the Internet Movie Database
• Just Go with It at AllRovi
• Just Go with It at Rotten Tomatoes
• Just Go with It at Metacritic
• Just Go with It at Box Office Mojo

Jennifer Aniston
Aniston at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in February 2012
Born	Jennifer Joanna Aniston[1][2] (1969-02-11) February 11, 1969 (age 43) Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Brad Pitt (2000–2005)
Partner	Justin Theroux (2011–present)

Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969)^[3] is an American actress, film director, and producer. Aniston gained worldwide recognition in the 1990s for portraying Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Aniston has also enjoyed a successful Hollywood film career. She gained critical acclaim for her performances in the independent films She's the One (1996), Office Space (1999), The Good Girl (2002) and Friends with Money (2006).^[4] She has had her greatest commercial successes with the films Bruce Almighty (2003), The Break-Up (2006), Marley & Me (2008), Just Go with It (2011) and Horrible Bosses (2011).^[5] Aniston was selected for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.^[6]

Early life[link]

Jennifer Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles^[7] to actors John Aniston and Nancy Dow.^[8] Her father is Greek and a native of Crete, while her mother was born in New York City. One of Aniston's maternal great-grandfathers was an Italian immigrant;^[9] her mother's other ancestry is Scottish, Irish, and a small amount of Greek.^[10] Aniston has two half-brothers, John Melick, her maternal older half-brother, and Alex Aniston, her younger paternal half-brother.^[7][8] Aniston's godfather was actor Telly Savalas, one of her father's best friends.^[7][8] As a child, Aniston lived in Greece for one year with her family. They later relocated to New York City.^[8] Aniston attended the Rudolf Steiner School in New York,^[11] and graduated from Manhattan's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.^[7] She worked in Off Broadway productions such as For Dear Life and Dancing on Checker's Grave,^[8] and supported herself with several part-time jobs, which included working as a telemarketer, waitress, and bike messenger.^[8] In 1989, Aniston moved back to Los Angeles.^[12]

Career[link]

Television[link]

Aniston was cast in her first television role in 1990, starring as a regular on the short-lived series Molloy and in the TV movie Camp Cucamonga.^[13] She also co-starred in Ferris Bueller, a television adaptation of the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.^[13] The series, however, was quickly canceled.^[8] Aniston then appeared in two more failed television comedy series, The Edge and Muddling Through, and guest-starred on Quantum Leap, Herman's Head, and Burke's Law.^[13] After the string of canceled shows, along with her appearance in the critically derided 1992 horror film, Leprechaun,^[14] Aniston reportedly considered giving up acting.^[8]

Aniston's plans changed, however, after auditioning for Friends, a sitcom that was set to debut on NBC's 1994–1995 fall lineup.^[7][15] The producers of the show originally wanted Aniston to audition for the role of Monica Geller,^[15] but Courteney Cox was considered to be better suited to the role. Thus, Aniston was cast as Rachel Green. She was also offered a spot as a featured player on Saturday Night Live, but turned it down to do Friends.^[16] She played the character of Rachel from 1994 until the show ended in 2004.^[17][18]

The program was successful and Aniston, along with her co-stars, gained world-wide reputation among television viewers.^[7] Aniston received a salary of $1 million per episode for the last two seasons of Friends, as well as five Emmy nominations (two for Supporting Actress, three for Lead Actress),^{[19][20][21][22]} including a win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.^[23] According to the Guinness World Book of Records (2005), Aniston (along with her female costars) became the highest paid TV actress of all time with her $1 million-per-episode paycheck for the tenth season of Friends.^[24]

In 2007, Aniston guest starred in an episode of Courteney Cox Arquette's series Dirt, playing Arquette's rival, Tina Harrod.^[25] She appeared in the third episode of Season 3 of NBC's 30 Rock playing Liz Lemon's old college roommate who stalks Jack Donaghy.^[26] On July 16, 2009, Aniston received an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on 30 Rock. Aniston was a guest star on the Season 2 premiere of ABC's sitcom Cougar Town, playing a psychiatrist.^[27]

Film[link]

While appearing on Friends, Aniston also started segueing into film roles. She made her film debut in 1992's Leprechaun, which was negatively reviewed by critics, but was commercially successful and gained a cult following. Following a four year hiatus from cinema, Aniston returned to film work in 1996, when she played supporting roles in the independent films Dream for an Insomniac, and She's the One, alongside Edward Burns and Cameron Diaz. Aniston's first starring vehicle was the film Picture Perfect (1997), in which she starred opposite Kevin Bacon and Jay Mohr. While the film received mixed reviews, Aniston's performance was more warmly received, with many critics suggesting that she had screen presence.^[28] During the second half of the 1990s she starred in several films such as the ensemble romantic film 'Til There Was You (1997) with Dylan McDermott and Sarah Jessica Parker, The Thin Pink Line (1998), the animated feature The Iron Giant (1999), and the critically acclaimed comedy Office Space (1999). She gained critical acclaim for her performances in The Object of My Affection (1998), a comedy-drama about a woman who falls for a gay man (played by Paul Rudd),^[29] and in the low-budget 2002 film The Good Girl, playing an unglamorous cashier in a small town. The latter film opened in relatively few theaters—under 700 in total—taking $14M in the U.S. box office.^[30]

Aniston, with Steve Zahn, at the premiere of Management (2008)

Aniston's biggest box office success to date was her appearance in 2003's Bruce Almighty, in which she played the live-in girlfriend of Jim Carrey's title character.^[31] Aniston then starred in the 2004 film Along Came Polly opposite Ben Stiller.^[32] In late 2005, Aniston appeared in two major studio films, Derailed and Rumor Has It….^[33][34] In 2006, Aniston appeared in the low-budget drama Friends with Money, which was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival and received a limited release.^[35] Aniston's next film, The Break-Up, which was released on June 2, grossed approximately $39.17 million during its opening weekend, despite lukewarm reviews.^[36] In 2006, Aniston directed a hospital emergency room-set short film called Room 10, starring Robin Wright Penn and Kris Kristofferson as part of Glamour's Reel Moments film series.^[37] Aniston noted that she was inspired to direct by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who also directed a short film in 2006.^[38]

On December 25, 2008, Marley & Me, in which Aniston starred alongside Owen Wilson, was released. It set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever with $14.75 million in ticket sales. It earned a total of $51.7 million over the four-day weekend and placed #1 at the box office, a position it maintained for two weeks.^[39] The total worldwide gross was $242,717,113.^[40] Her next film in wide release, He's Just Not That into You, where she starred opposite Ben Affleck, opened in February 2009. The movie made $27.5 million, ranking #1 at the box office in its opening weekend.^[41] While the film received mixed reviews, Aniston, along with Affleck, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Jennifer Connelly, were often praised by critics as being the stand-outs in the film.^[42][43]

In March 2010, Aniston appeared in The Bounty Hunter, which costarred Gerard Butler. While the film received scathing reviews from critics, it was a modest box office success, garnering over $130 million worldwide.^[44] A lukewarm box-office reception greeted her next film, The Switch, in which she co-starred with Jason Bateman. The film's opening weekend drew what The Hollywood Reporter dubbed "a dispiriting $8.4 million".^[45] The film received generally mixed reviews, with review site Metacritic showing 13 out of 30 critics delivering a positive verdict.^[46]

By June 20, 2010, Aniston's movies had grossed more than $1 billion in the United States and over $1.7 billion worldwide.^[47] Aniston's Just Go with It, with Adam Sandler,^[48] was released on Valentine's Day weekend in 2011.^[49] The story is about a plastic surgeon, played by Sandler, who asks his office manager, played by Aniston, to pose as his wife, to prove his honesty to his much younger girlfriend, played by Brooklyn Decker.^[50] Also in 2011, Aniston starred in the comedy movie Horrible Bosses, with Colin Farrell, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jamie Foxx, directed by Seth Gordon. The film focuses on a trio of employees who plot to murder their titular tyrannical supervisors. Aniston played one of the bosses, a sexually aggressive dentist who harasses Charlie Day's character.^[51]

Aniston at the London premiere of Horrible Bosses (2011)

In 2012, Aniston appeared in Wanderlust with Paul Rudd,^[52] with whom she co-starred in the 1998 movie The Object of My Affection and also Friends.^[53] The script, bought by Universal Pictures,^[54] was written by Rudd, Ken Marino, and David Wain, with the latter also directing the film, and was produced by Judd Apatow.^[55] The movie was about a married couple who join a commune after losing their money and deciding modern life is not for them.^[56]

EUE/Screen Gems Productions is expected to start work on We're the Millers in Summer 2012 in the Wilmington, North Carolina area. Aniston and Jason Sudeikis star in the comedy about a drug dealer with a fake family.^[57]

Other work[link]

Aniston has appeared in various commercials and music videos. In 1996, she was in Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers music video for "Walls". In 2001, Aniston was in Melissa Etheridge's music video for "I Want To Be In Love". She was cast in a Heineken commercial which was later banned in the U.S. due to branding issues.^{[citation needed]} Aniston has also been in commercials for L'Oreal hair products. In 1995, Aniston and her Friends co-star Matthew Perry shot a 60-minute instructional video for the release of Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 95.^[58] Along with Brad Pitt and Brad Grey, CEO of Paramount Pictures, Aniston founded the film production company Plan B Entertainment in 2002,^[59] although she and Grey withdrew in 2005.^[60][61] In 2008, she and partner Kristin Hahn formed the production company Echo Films.^[62]

Aniston worked for over a year on a new perfume, which was released on July 21, 2010, at Harrods in London.^[63][64] Original plans called for the perfume to be named Lolavie by Jennifer Aniston, but to avoid confusion with a similarly named perfume, the name was changed to simply Jennifer Aniston.^[65] In an interview following the launch, Aniston said that she would also like to create a fragrance for men.^[66]

Since 2007, Aniston has worked in a publicity campaign for the drink SmartWater; on March 7, 2011, she released a YouTube video, titled "Jennifer Aniston Goes Viral", for SmartWater, tripling online interest in the product within 24 hours of the release.^[67][68][69]

Philanthropy[link]

Aniston is a supporter of Friends of El Faro, a grassroots non-profit organization that helps raise money for Casa Hogar Sion, an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. She has appeared in many TV commercials for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, which she supports. She also hosted September 2008's Stand Up to Cancer show.^[70]

In the "It Can't Wait" campaign to free Burma, Aniston directed and starred in a video.^[71]

On April 14, 2007, Aniston received GLAAD's Vanguard Award for her contributions to increased visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.^[72] On Earth Day 2010, she joined Courteney Cox, Woody Harrelson, Ben Stiller and others in "The Cove PSA: My Friend is..."^[73] an effort to stop the slaughter of dolphins and protect the Japanese people from the toxic levels of mercury found in dolphin meat. Other charities that Aniston has supported include AmeriCares, Clothes Off Our Back, Feeding America, EB Medical Research Foundation, Project A.L.S., OmniPeace, and Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.^[74]

Aniston donated $500,000 to Doctors Without Borders, Haitian health care provider Partners in Health and AmeriCares,^[75][76] and also participated in the megastar-studded Hope for Haiti Now telethon.^[77][78]

Personal life[link]

Aniston at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

In May 1998, Aniston began dating actor Brad Pitt. They married on July 29, 2000, in a private wedding ceremony in Malibu.^[79] For a few years, their marriage was considered the rare Hollywood success.^[8] However, the couple announced their separation on January 6, 2005.^[80] Pitt and Aniston were seen together publicly after announcing their separation, even at a dinner party for Aniston's 36th birthday, and friends of the couple had declared they were reconciling.^[81] Aniston, however, filed for divorce on March 25, 2005.^[2] It was finalized on October 2, 2005.^[82] During this period there was intense speculation in the media that Pitt had been unfaithful to Aniston with his Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star, Angelina Jolie.^[83]

In the following months, the public's reaction towards the divorce was reported in the press. The story became the headline news of media shows such as Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood, and made the front-pages of tabloid magazines for years, continuing till this day. 'Team Aniston' and 'Team Jolie' T-shirts appeared, with 'Team Aniston' shirts out-selling the 'Team Jolie' shirts 4:1.^[83] Aniston revealed that her divorce prompted her to reach out to her mother, Nancy, from whom she was estranged for nearly a decade. They initially became estranged when Nancy spoke about her daughter on a television show and later wrote a book entitled, From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir (1999).^[84][85] Aniston has also stated she was devastated by the death of her longtime therapist, whose work helped make her separation from Pitt easier.^[38] Aniston said her relationship with Pitt, which she does not regret, was "seven very intense years together" and that "it was a beautiful, complicated relationship."^[86]

Aniston and Pitt's former Santa Barbara residence

After her divorce, Aniston began a relationship with actor Vince Vaughn, with whom she co-starred in The Break-Up. Relationship troubles were reported in September 2006, followed by a confirmed split in December of that year.^[80] She dated British model Paul Sculfor for a few months in 2007.^[87] In February 2008, she began dating singer John Mayer.^[80] The couple broke up in August, but they resumed the relationship in October before splitting again in March 2009.

In May 2011, Aniston began a relationship with Justin Theroux. She sold her Beverly Hills mansion in July 2011 for $38 million. In January 2012, Aniston and Theroux purchased a home in Los Angeles’s Bel-Air neighborhood for roughly $22 million.^[88]

Aniston has had two septoplasties to correct her deviated septum—one which was incorrectly done in 1994 and the second in January 2007.^[89]

Aniston is the godmother of Coco Riley Arquette, the daughter of her good friends, actors Courteney Cox and David Arquette.^[90]

In the media[link]

In 2007, Forbes rated Aniston as one of the top 10 richest women in entertainment and estimated her net worth to be about $110 million.^[91] Aniston was also included in the annual Star Salary Top 10 of trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter for 2006.^[92] According to Forbes, in October 2007, Aniston was the top-selling celebrity face of the entertainment industry.^[93] She was also Hollywood's most profitable actress. Aniston has been on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, based on "earnings and fame", every year since 2001, topping the list in 2003.^[94] For the year of 2008, Forbes listed Aniston's earnings as $27 million.^[95]

In 2005, Aniston became the first-ever GQ Woman of the Year. She has appeared on People's annual list of The Most Beautiful every year since 1995, and came in at #1 in 2004. She also topped the magazine's Best Dressed List in 2006. She has been a regular on FHMs 100 Sexiest Women list since 1996, ranking at #79 in 2012, #81 in 2010, #24 in 2009 and #27 in 2008.^[96] In 2011 The Telegraph reported the most sought after body parts of the rich and famous revealed by two Hollywood plastic surgeons who carried out a survey among their patients to build up the picture of what the perfect woman would look like. Under the category of the most sought after body shape Aniston was voted in the top three alongside Gisele Bundchen and Penelope Cruz.^[97] In the same year, readers of Men's Health magazine voted Aniston the "Sexiest Woman of All Time".^[98]

Although Aniston disliked the hairstyle she wore during her first two years on Friends, "The Rachel" became and remains very popular among women.^[2]

Filmography[link]

Aniston at the premiere of He's Just Not That Into You in February 2009

Director[link]

Producer[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Aniston has won multiple awards during her career, and has been recognized for her work in both television and movie productions.

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Jennifer Aniston on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Jennifer Aniston at the Internet Movie Database
• Jennifer Aniston at AllRovi
• Jennifer Aniston at Yahoo! Movies
• Jennifer Aniston 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.