Channel 5, as a television channel, may refer to:

In the Americas[link]

• Channel 5 – Rosario, Argentine television station, founded in 1964, which broadcasts from the city of Rosario
• Great Belize Television, Belize television station, known as "Channel 5", founded in 1991 and broadcasting from Belize City
• WNYW Channel 5, U.S. channel based in New York City, founded by TV pioneer Allen B. DuMont in 1938; flagship station of the DuMont Network until 1956
• WTTG Channel 5, U.S. channel based in Washington, D.C., founded by Allen B. DuMont in 1945; one of two key stations of the 1944–56 DuMont Network
• Canal 5 (Televisa Network), a Mexican television network owned by Televisa
  • XHGC-TV, a Mexican television station in Mexico City, founded in 1952 and flagship of the Canal 5 network
• Canal 5 Noticias, a news channel in Argentina

• Several television stations in North America which broadcast on VHF frequencies covering 77.25-81.75 MHz; see the following:
  • For Canada, see Category: Channel 5 TV stations in Canada
  • For Mexico, see Category: Channel 5 TV stations in Mexico
  • For the United States, see Category: Channel 5 TV stations in the United States

In Asia[link]

• Channel 5, Pakistan television broadcaster owned by the Khabrain Group and associated with the Urdu-language daily newspaper, Khabrain, founded in 1992
• Channel 5 (Thailand) Thailand television broadcaster, founded in 1958 and owned by the Royal Thai Army
• DWET-TV, Channel 5, Philippine TV network Associated Broadcasting Company's flagship station in Metro Manila; founded in 1960 as DZTM-TV
• MediaCorp Channel 5, English-language Singapore television broadcaster, founded in 1963
• Sport 5, Israeli cable and satellite TV station, founded in 2002 which, by 2007, expanded to five sports channels showcasing varying sports-oriented programming

In Europe[link]

• Canale 5, Italian television broadcaster, founded in 1978 as "TeleMilano58", Italy's first private network; became "Canale 5" in 1980
• Channel 5 Lithuania - the largest regional TV channel in Lithuania. The first broadcast took place on 11 October 2004
• Channel 5 (UK), United Kingdom television broadcaster, founded in March 1997; known as "Channel 5" until 2002 and Five until July 2010
• France 5, French public television network, founded as La Cinquième in December 1994.
• Kanal 5 (Sweden), Swedish commercial channel, founded in 1989 and owned by the media corporation ProSiebenSat.1 Media
• 5 Kanal (Ukraine), Ukrainian television channel, founded in 2003 by businessman Petro Poroshenko
• Petersburg - Channel 5, Russian broadcaster, founded on in 1938; known as Leningrad Television until 1992; seen nationally, with regional channels
• Telecinco, Spain's second private television station (after Antenna 3), founded in 1990 and broadcasting from Madrid on channel 5

See also[link]

• Chanel No. 5 French perfume produced by the Parisian fashion house of Chanel
• Channel 5 Video Distribution, A defunct Home Video brand from the mid-1980s - 1990s owned by Polygram Video.
• TV5 (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

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]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nicole Kidman

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Nicole Kidman

• Official website
• Nicole Kidman at the Internet Movie Database
• Nicole Kidman at the Internet Broadway Database
• Nicole Kidman at AllRovi
• Nicole Kidman at Yahoo! Movies
• Nicole Kidman at People.com
• Nicole Kidman's charity work

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Susan Boyle
Susan Boyle in November 2009
Background information
Birth name	Susan Magdalane Boyle[1][2][3]
Born	(1961-04-01) 1 April 1961 (age 51)[1]
Origin	Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom
Genres	Pop[4]
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Sony Music, Syco, Columbia
Associated acts	Elaine Paige, Geraldine McQueen, Emeli Sandé
Website	susanboylemusic.com

Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961^[1][5]) is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables. Her first album was released in November 2009 and debuted as the number one best-selling album on charts around the globe.

Global interest in Boyle was triggered by the contrast between her powerful mezzo-soprano voice and her plain appearance on stage.^[6] The juxtaposition of the audience's first impression of her, with the standing ovation she received during and after her performance, led to an international media and Internet response. Within nine days of the audition, videos of Boyle—from the show, various interviews and her 1999 rendition of "Cry Me a River"—had been watched over 100 million times.^[7] Her audition video has been viewed on the internet several hundred million times.^[8] Despite the sustained media interest she later finished in second place in the final of the show behind dance troupe Diversity.

Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed a Dream (2009) remains as the UK best-selling debut album of all time, beating previous record holder, Spirit by Leona Lewis.^[9] I Dreamed a Dream is ranked fourth in its first week sales according to the Official Chart Company in the United Kingdom.^[9] In her first year of fame, Boyle made a fortune of £5 million with the release of I Dreamed a Dream and its lead off singles, "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Wild Horses".^[10] The success was continued with her second album, The Gift (2010), and was followed by Boyle's third album, Someone to Watch Over Me, released on 31 October 2011.^[11] On 12 May 2012, Susan returned to Britain's Got Talent to perform as a guest in the final singing "You'll See".^[12] The following day, she performed at Windsor Castle for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant singing "Mull of Kintyre".^[13] Boyle's net worth was estimated at £22 million in April 2012.^[14]

Life and career[link]

Early life and childhood[link]

Boyle was raised in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland,^[15] by her parents Patrick Boyle, a miner, World War II veteran and singer at the Bishop's Blaize, and Bridget, a shorthand typist,^[16] whose family comes from County Donegal, Ireland.^[17] She was the youngest of four brothers and five sisters.^[15] Boyle was briefly deprived of oxygen during a difficult birth resulting in a learning disability.^[18] Boyle says she was bullied as a child^[15][19] and was nicknamed "Susie Simple" at school.^[20]

After leaving school with few qualifications,^[15] she was employed for the only time in her life as a trainee cook in the kitchen of West Lothian College for six months,^[20] took part in government training programmes,^[16] and performed at a number of local venues.^[18]

Early musical training and career[link]

Boyle took singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil.^[15] She attended Edinburgh Acting School and took part in the Edinburgh Fringe.^[18] Prior to Britain's Got Talent, her main experience had come from singing in her local Catholic church, Our Lady of Lourdes; in local choirs; and in karaoke performances at pubs in and around her village. She had also auditioned several times for My Kind of People.^[21] She has also long participated in her parish church's pilgrimages to the Knock Shrine, County Mayo, Ireland, and has sung there at the Marian basilica.^[22]

Her repertoire through the years has included songs such as "The Way We Were" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him." British tabloids claimed "exclusives" of video clips of some early performances.^[23][24] In 1995, her audition for Michael Barrymore's My Kind of People^[18] at the Olympia Shopping Centre in East Kilbride was filmed – the amateur video shows Barrymore was more interested in mocking her than in her ability to sing.^[25]

In 1999, she submitted a track for a charity CD to commemorate the Millennium^[15][26] produced at a West Lothian school. Only 1,000 copies of the CD, Music for a Millennium Celebration, Sounds of West Lothian, were pressed.^[27] An early review in the West Lothian Herald & Post said Boyle's rendition of "Cry Me a River" was "heartbreaking" and "had been on repeat in my CD player ever since I got this CD..."^[28][29] The recording found its way onto the internet following her first televised appearance and the New York Post said it showed that Boyle was "not a one trick pony."^[30] Hello! said the recording "cement[ed] her status" as a singing star.^[31]

In 1998, Boyle recorded three tracks "Cry Me A River", "Killing Me Softly" & "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"at Heartbeat Studio, Midlothian.^[32] She used all her savings to pay for a professionally cut demo, copies of which she later sent to record companies, radio talent competitions, local and national TV. The demo consisted of her versions of "Cry Me a River" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song"; the songs were uploaded to the Internet after her BGT audition.^[33]

After Boyle won several local singing competitions, her mother urged her to enter Britain's Got Talent and take the risk of singing in front of an audience larger than her parish church. Former coach O'Neil said Boyle abandoned an audition for The X Factor because she believed people were being chosen for their looks. She almost abandoned her plan to enter Britain's Got Talent believing she was too old, but O'Neil persuaded her to audition nevertheless.^[34] Boyle said that she was motivated to seek a musical career to pay tribute to her mother.^[15] Her performance on the show was the first time she had sung in public since her mother died.^[35][36]

[edit] Britain's Got Talent (2008–2009)

In August 2008, Boyle applied for an audition for the third series of Britain's Got Talent (as contestant number 43212) and was accepted after a preliminary audition in Glasgow. When Boyle first appeared on Britain's Got Talent at the city's Clyde Auditorium, she said that she aspired to become a professional singer "as successful as Elaine Paige".^[37] Boyle sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the first round of the third series of Britain's Got Talent, which was watched by over 10 million viewers when it aired on 11 April 2009.^[38] Programme judge Amanda Holden remarked upon the audience's initially cynical attitude, and the subsequent "biggest wake-up call ever" upon hearing her performance.^[39]

This performance was widely reported and tens of millions of people viewed the video on YouTube.^[38] Boyle was "absolutely gobsmacked" by the strength of this reaction.^[40] Since the appearance, Paige has expressed interest in singing a duet with Boyle,^[37] and has called her "a role model for everyone who has a dream".^[41] Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" has been credited with causing a surge in ticket sales in the Vancouver production of Les Misérables.^[42][43] Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of the Les Misérables musical, also praised the performance, as "heart-touching, thrilling and uplifting".^[38]

She was one of 40 acts that were put through to the semi-finals.^[44] She appeared last on the first semi-final on 24 May 2009, performing "Memory" from the musical Cats.^[45] In the public vote she was the act to receive the highest number of votes and go through to the final.^[46][47] She was the clear favourite to win the final,^[48] but ended up in second place to Diversity; the UK TV audience was a record of 17.3 million viewers.^[49]

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) became concerned by press reports about Boyle's erratic behaviour and speculation about her mental condition and wrote to remind editors about clause 3 (privacy) of their code of press conduct.^[48] The day after the final, Boyle was admitted to The Priory, a private psychiatric clinic in London,^[49] TalkbackThames explained "Following Saturday night's show, Susan is exhausted and emotionally drained." Her stay in hospital attracted widespread attention, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown wishing her well.^[51] Cowell offered to waive Boyle's contractual obligation to take part in the BGT tour. Her family said "she's been battered non-stop for the last seven weeks and it has taken its toll [...but...] her dream is very much alive," as she had been invited to the Independence Day celebrations at the White House.^[49]

Boyle left the clinic five days after her admission^[52] and said she would participate in the BGT tour. Despite health worries, she appeared in 20 of the 24 dates of the tour,^[53] and was well received in cities such as Aberdeen,^[54] Edinburgh,^[55] Dublin,^[56] Sheffield,^[57] Coventry,^[58] Birmingham^[59] and London.^[60] The Belfast Telegraph said "Despite reports of crumbling under the pressure..., she exuded a confidence resembling that of a veteran who has been performing for years".^[61]

[edit] I Dreamed a Dream and tour (2009–2010)

Boyle's first album, I Dreamed a Dream, was released on 23 November 2009.^[62] The album includes covers of "Wild Horses" and "You'll See" as well as "I Dreamed a Dream", and "Cry Me a River".^[63] I Dreamed a Dream became Amazon.com's best-selling album in pre-sales on 4 September 2009, three months before the scheduled release.^[64] In Britain, Boyle's debut album was recognised as the fastest selling UK debut album of all time selling 411,820 copies, beating the previous fastest selling debut of all time, Spirit by Leona Lewis.^[65] I Dreamed a Dream also outsold the rest of the top 5 albums combined in its first week.^[66]

In the U.S., the album sold 701,000 copies in its first week, the best opening week for a debut artist in over a decade.^[67] It topped the Billboard chart for six straight weeks and although it narrowly failed to become the best-selling album of 2009, with sales of 3,104,000 compared to 3,217,000 for Taylor Swift's Fearless, it was one of only two albums to sell over 3 million copies in the U.S., and was also the top selling "physical" album of 2009, with only 86,000 of its sales coming from digital downloads.^[68] This has in turn garnered more media attention, as mentioned by People magazine.^[69]

In Italy, it was the first album of the month in the Italian No. 1 Account by a non-Italian artist ever. In only a week, it sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, becoming the fastest selling global female debut album.^[66]

Boyle gave a U.S. concert tour in November as a lead-up to the album release.^[70] On 13 December 2009 she appeared in her own television special "I Dreamed a Dream: the Susan Boyle Story", featuring a duet with Elaine Paige.^[71] It got ratings of 10 million viewers in the United Kingdom^[72] and in America was the TV Guide Network's highest rated television special in its history.^[73]

In November 2009 it was reported^[74] that Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" would be the theme song of the anime movie Eagle Talon The Movie 3 which was later released in Japan on 16 January 2010.^[75] Boyle performed for Pope Benedict XVI on his tour of Britain in 2010.^[76] In May 2010, Susan Boyle was voted by Time magazine as the seventh most influential person in the world.^[77][78]

[edit] The Gift (2010–2011)

On 9 July 2010, Boyle announced that her second album would be a Christmas album entitled The Gift.^[79] As part of the lead-up to the album, she held a competition called Susan's Search, the winner of which sang a duet with her on her new CD.^[80] The album was released on 8 November 2010.^[81]

The album was produced by Steve Mac, who said that "Now Susan's used to the studio and the recording process, this time round we might go even further down a traditional route of recording by getting a band together and rehearsing songs before we go into the studio to see what works, how she reacts with certain parts, and so we can change the arrangements that way. I think that’s going to work much better....With Susan it’s very important she connects with the public and the public connect with her. She doesn’t want to sing anything that hasn’t happened to her or she can’t relate to."^[82] Boyle has suggested the album will include some jazz numbers now she's "a bit more content" within herself. "My next album has to have an element of surprise in it again. I'm hoping to make it better and a bit extra special."^[83]

In November 2010, Boyle became one of only three acts ever to top both the UK and US album charts twice in the same year.^[84] On 30 November 2010, in the United States, Boyle performed on ABC's The View singing "O Holy Night" and then on NBC's Christmas at Rockefeller Center program performing "Perfect Day" and "Away in a Manger". During her appearance on The View she was unable to finish her song, stating that she had a "frog in her throat"; she wanted to start the song over but was not allowed to. The audience applauded her anyway and she later performed an unaired version of the song which was uploaded to The View's YouTube account.

[edit] Someone to Watch Over Me (2011–present)

Emeli Sande was reported to have helped Boyle to write songs for her third studio album, which was released on 31 October 2011.^[85] Boyle performed on the second semi-final results show of the sixth season of America's Got Talent, which aired on 31 August 2011.^[86]

Boyle made her first appearance in Australia, on X Factor Australia, on 8 November 2011 and sang "Autumm Leaves".

Media impact[link]

Websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have been crucial in facilitating Boyle's rapid rise to fame:^[87] The most popular YouTube video submission of her audition garnered nearly 2.5 million views in the first 72 hours.^[88] On the day following the performance, the YouTube video was the most popular article on Digg^[89] and made the front page of Reddit.^[90] Within a week, the audition performance had been viewed more than 66 million times, setting an online record, while on Wikipedia her biographical article attracted nearly half a million page views. A total of 103 million video views on 20 different Web sites was reached within nine days.^[7] The Los Angeles Times wrote that her popularity on YouTube may in part be due to the broad range of emotion packed into a short clip which was "perfect for the Internet".^[91] In December 2009 her audition was named the most watched YouTube video of the year with over 120 million viewings, more than three times higher than the second most popular video.^[92]