6 Things You Didn’t Know About Nicole Kidman
By Alexus Mosley
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Nicole Kidman has the kind of screen presence that makes an entrance feel like an event. But beyond the gowns and memorable performances is a collection of anecdotes that deserves its own close-up. Consider this a little extra credit for your next movie night.
1. Her story begins in Hawaii
One of Australia’s most recognizable actresses was actually born in Honolulu. Nicole Mary Kidman arrived on June 20, 1967, while her Australian parents were living in the United States.
So yes, the Australian screen icon has a Hawaiian birthplace. An excellent opening question for celebrity trivia night.
2. She has a Christmas number-one single
If Moulin Rouge! introduced you to Nicole’s singing voice, there’s more to add to the playlist. Her 2001 duet with Robbie Williams, “Somethin’ Stupid,” reached number one on the UK singles chart and stayed there for three weeks. It also claimed that year’s coveted Christmas number-one spot.
A leading lady with a festive chart victory tucked into her résumé.
3. Jimmy Fallon didn’t realize she was interested in him
Photo Credit: Theo Wargo/NBC / Getty Images
In a wonderfully awkward 2015 appearance on The Tonight Show, Kidman revealed that an earlier visit to Fallon’s apartment had held romantic potential for her. Fallon had understood the meeting very differently, believing it concerned a possible film role.
According to Kidman’s recollection, he barely spoke and put on a video game. She left thinking he wasn’t interested. Imagine discovering, on your own television show, that you had once missed a chance with Nicole Kidman. Some memories really do require a commercial break.
4. Her idea of a tasting menu might surprise you
For Vanity Fair’s 2018 “Secret Talent Theatre,” Kidman ate a meal of bugs on camera, beginning with live hornworms. She approached the experience with remarkable composure, discussing the texture as though she were reviewing a restaurant’s adventurous new menu.
We admire a woman who commits to the assignment. We will also be ordering something else.
5. She made an unsolicited audition tape for Ghost
Photo Credit: Columbia Pictures
Before Ghost became the film audiences know, Kidman sent in an audition video from Australia without being asked. Screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin recalled the submission in a 1995 Vanity Fair profile. The role of Molly ultimately went to Demi Moore, but the anecdote offers a lovely glimpse of Kidman’s early ambition.
Sometimes you wait for the invitation. Sometimes you send the tape.
6. Butterflies are where she draws the line
After that adventurous tasting menu, you might assume insects don’t faze Nicole. But she has spoken about a fear of butterflies dating back to childhood, recalling that she would climb fences to avoid one sitting on the front gate. She even tried confronting the fear at the American Museum of Natural History’s butterfly enclosure. According to her account, the visit didn’t help.
Bugs on the tasting menu? Apparently manageable. Butterflies on the guest list? A different conversation.