In honour of the best thing to ever come out of Australia (sorry, Chris Hemsworth), turning a gorgeous 53 years old over the weekend. The WG team decided to make a comprehensive list of roles that made us fall in love with the talented and absolutely breathtaking enigma that is Nicole thee Kidman.
Since kicking off her acting career in the early 80s and venturing into Hollywood in the 90s, we’ve seen Nicole Kidman don many hats and play a variety of iconic characters that have positioned themselves in pop culture for a variety of reasons. Whether she’s playing the tragic Satine in Moulin Rouge (which led to this legendary cover of Frank and Nancy Sinatra’s ‘Somethin’ Stupid’ with Robbie Williams) or even playing troubled mothers (something she does brilliantly especially in Rabbit Hole and Lion) or making us root for her justice as Celeste in the critically-acclaimed HBO drama series Big Little Lies. She’s done it all.
Here are our top five must-watch roles of Queen Nicole Kidman…
1. Moulin Rouge (2001)
While this was the role that began her Oscar nominations, Moulin Rouge cemented Nicole Kidman as a force of nature with her portrayal of a cabaret actress and courtesan that falls in love with a struggling English poet (Ewan McGregor).
The movie directed by Baz Luhrmann went on to get eight nominations at the 2002 Academy Awards and win two.
2. Practical Magic (1998)
Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock playing two witch sisters facing a curse that prevents them ever finding lasting love? Do we need any more reason to be on board?
The premise. The spookiness. The lines. The wardrobe.
All the reasons why this movie is a cult classic.
3. The Hours (2002)
In 2002, Kidman won critical acclaim for her portrayal of author Virginia Woolf in Stephen Daldry‘s The Hours. The film also starring Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore, saw a Nicole Kidman as nearly unrecognizable due to her makeup and prosthetics.
Following the author’s time in 1920s England, she showed us all the highs and lows faced by the Virginia Woolf with her heart-wrenching portrayal. The movie went on to win several accolades and nominations and made her the first Australian actress to win an Academy award.
4. Big Little Lies (2017 – present)
Making a return to television in 2017, Nicole Kidman portrayed one of the leads of a stellar cast (Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz) in the HBO adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s novel Big Little Lies.
Playing Celeste Wright, she made us fall in love with the former lawyer and housewife concealing her abusive relationship with her husband, played by a very evil (and downright terrifying) Alexander Skarsgård.
The show went on to become a critical success and gave her another Emmy win with this career-defining performance.
5. The Stepford Wives (2004)
In this hilarious black comedy science fiction film (a genre that needs to be explored more), Kidman stars as Joanna Eberhart, a successful reality television executive producer, whose career suddenly ends after an attempted shootout by a disillusioned reality show participant. After being fired, Joanna has a complete mental breakdown and even forgets her wedding anniversary. Looking for a change of pace, she and her husband Walter (Matthew Broderick), and their two children, move from from Manhattan to Stepford, a quiet suburb in Connecticut.
While there, she realizes something strange is going on with all the women in town and begins to do some snooping and finds out something straight out of a wacky sci-fi movie.
The movie will have you in stitches with the way it plays out and Kidman is absolutely brilliant.