Nicole Kidman is one of the hottest female stars around in 2003: her every move makes front page headlines all over the world. This biography traces her steady rise from prolific child star through B-list mediocrity to her current status as a critically acclaimed and hugely popular actress. Kidman toiled for years in the Hollywood wilderness, failing auditions for Ghost, Thelma and Louise, Sleepless in Seattle and The Silence of the Lambs; she only landed her breakthrough role in To Die For after Meg Ryan turned it down. Since then, she has worked closely with some of the leading directors and actors of our time, starring in Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady and Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. She's also made successful forays into action movies (The Peacemaker, alongside George Clooney) and horror (The Others). Having firmly established herself as a successful film actress, Kidman has also branched out into other areas, demonstrating her versatility as a performer. Her West End and Broadway stage debut in The Blue Room was memorably dubbed pure theatrical Viagra by one mesmerized theatre critic. More recently, she has duetted with Robbie Williams on a cover version of Frank Sinatra's Somethin' Stupid - the single was the UK's Christmas Number One in 2001. Her marriage to Tom Cruise was the subject of much speculation, and the authors investigate the numerous rumours concerning the couple. But since her divorce in 2001, Kidman has begun to emerge as a fascinating personality in her own right. Her seductive performance as the courtesan Satine in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge earned her a Golden Globe award as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. And a second Golden Globe for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours has cemented Kidman's reputation as a serious, critically acclaimed actress.