Woman of the Hour: Nicole Kidman

This hot and sexy redhead became more than Tom Cruise's ex-wife. She became a household name due to her excellence in acting not to mention her top-grossing movies at the box-office. This Aussie beauty not only does acting but she can also hit notes via her duets Come What May featuring Ewan McGregor, Somethin' Stupid with Robbie Williams and Heartbreak Hotel with Hugh Jackman all for the soundtrack of her movies Moulin Rouge and Happy Feet.Child of biochemist Anthony David and nurse/teacher Janelle. Her parents were Australian descent but she was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on June 20, 1967.

By the time she reached four years old, they go back to their country of origin where she pursues her ballet studies. Nicole Mary grew up as an awkward child having a disproportioned body, a lanky height and pale skin. That features didn't stop her aspiring to become an actress by involving herself in theaters.In 1983, she made her film debut via Australian films Bush Christmas and BMX Bandits. Three years later, it was followed by a TV mini-series entitled Vietnam that drove her to midnight fame.

Having a star status in her native country, its her movie Dead Calm paved her way to Hollywood fame. In her next movie she met and fell in love with Tom Cruise, her co-star in the film Days of Thunder in 1990. Cruise, fresh from his divorce to actress Mimi Drivers married Nicole on December 24, 1990.

Her next film was with her husband entitled Far and Away in 1993. In 1995, she filmed Batman Forever as Dr. Chase Meridian and black comedy To Die For. Then came movies like Practical Magic(1998) which co-stars Sandra Bullock, Eyes Wide Shut(1999) with her husband Tom. Year 2000 came in filming another set of three movies Moulin Rouge, The Others and Birthday Girl. Two years after, she made Panic Room while her movie The Hours made her won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. More films followed and they hit box-office such as Cold Mountain (2003) with Jude Law, The Stepford Wives (2004) , Bewitched (2005), Happy Feet (2006) and The Invasion (2007) with Daniel Craig.

One of the most celebrated phase of her life is her marriage to Tom. In their entire marriage, they adopted two children, Isabella Jane and Connor Anthony. They got separated and divorced in 2001 leaving Nicole in shock. She is romantically linked to other actors such as Jude Law, Jim Carrey and Adrien Brody. She dated rock star Lenny Kravitz in 2004. In year 2005, she met Keith Urban in an event, the dated and got married on June 25, 2006 at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel in Sydney.