From her first faltering steps as an eight-year-old on a Sydney stage to the acclaim that greeted her performance in The Hours, Nicole Kidman has excelled in every arena she has entered. But who is this flame-haired, sapphire-eyed beauty? Kidman’s rise through the ranks of Australian television and film eventually led to leading roles in Hollywood. While box office success initially stayed just out of range, her A-list status was assured when she and then-husband Tom Cruise were cast in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. Her seductive performance in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge earned her a Golden Globe award as well as an Oscar nomination, and her Oscar-winning portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours has now firmly established her as an actress of exceptional talent, range, and appeal.