Nicole Mary Kidman was born on June 20, 1967, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father was a breast cancer researcher and moved the family to Sydney, Australia, for work reasons when Nicole was four years old. Her parents subsequently had another child, Antonia, who went on to become a journalist and Australian TV celebrity. Both parents were politically active and encouraged the girls to discuss political issues. Nicole also took an interest in theater and started ballet classes immediately upon arriving in Sydney. She went on to study at the Australian Theatre for Young People, and the Philip Street Theatre, where she was encouraged by director Jane Campion. But Nicole dropped out to care for her mother when she developed breast cancer.

At the age of fifteen, Kidman returned to the performing arts and appeared in Pat Wilson's video for "Bop Girl." She went on to appear in the TV series Five Mile Creek and in several minor films; she later joined the cast of long-running soap opera A Country Practice and starred in award-winning mini-series Bangkok Hilton. Her big break came in 1989 with the unexpected success of the thriller Dead Calm, in which she acted alongside Sam Neill and Billy Zane. This drew her to the attention of Hollywood and won her a leading role in Days of Thunder, confirming her star status.

It was on the set of Days of Thunder that Kidman met Tom Cruise, who was then married to actress Mimi Rogers. They began an affair and, following Cruise's divorce, married on Christmas Eve 1990. The wedding was even more controversial because of Cruise's attachment to L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology, which Kidman refused to become involved in, remaining a Catholic. Nevertheless, the relationship seemed a happy one and they went on to make several films together, including the critically slated Far and Away and, much later, Stanley Kubrick's swansong, Eyes Wide Shut. Kidman's great regret was that they could not successfully conceive a child, but compensated by adopting Isabella Jane and Connor Anthony.

Nicole and Tom divorced in 2001, and Cruise went on to date Penelope Cruz before becoming engaged to Katie Holmes. Kidman was later romantically linked to Lenny Kravitz and Elizabeth Hurley's ex Stephen Bing. It was also rumored that she had an affair with Jude Law on the set of Cold Mountain, leading to his divorce from Sadie Frost, though Kidman strongly denied this. She is now married to country singer Keith Urban.