How Nicole Kidman got her revenge, 24 years late: Babygirl actress, 57, has eclipsed ex Tom Cruise's career to become an awards darling - while he's been left with a 'deadbeat dad' image
- Nicole Kidman, 57, won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for Babygirl
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She's one of showbiz's most in-demand actresses, who has proven she can effortlessly flit from action-packed blockbusters, psychological dramas and back again.
But 23 years ago, Nicole Kidman went through a drama of her own - when her marriage to Tom Cruise came to a sudden end.
The couple - who met on the set of Days of Thunder in 1989 and married the following year - shared two adopted children and were once one of Hollywood's most influential power couples, raking in millions with every project.
Although the split reportedly came as a 'major shock' to Nicole, the Australian actress refused to fade into her ex-husband's shadow - much like his first actress wife Mimi Rogers.
Instead, the Academy Award-winning star has carved out a career that has arguably eclipsed her ex's, spanning across both the small and big screens.
In the wake of her divorce in 2001, Nicole appeared to channel her heartbreak into her career - scoring roles in Moulin Rouge, The Hours, which won her an Oscar, and The Others.
Meanwhile, the star - who remarried country singer Keith Urban in 2006 - is also now one of television's most highly-paid actresses, having reportedly been paid $1m-an-episode for season two of Big Little Lies.
What's more, the star was nominated for her 20th Golden Globe for her role in the erotic thriller Babygirl, which has been met with rave reviews from critics and earned her the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival in September.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman (who married in 1990) pictured before their sudden divorce in 2001
Pictured: Nicole Kidman with Babygirl co-star Harris Dickinson. Nicole won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival in September for her role in the erotic thriller
Here FEMAIL delves into how Nicole Kidman's 24-year revenge on Tom Cruise - as her ex-husband battles with his public image while her career soars.
Back-to-back Golden Globes and Oscar nominations
In February 2001, Tom Cruise announced his separation from Nicole - telling reporters at the time: 'It's over, we're moving forward with our lives and I think it's important for people to mind their own business.'
Although the actor insisted his ex-wife 'knew why' he filed, Nicole's representative told the Daily Mail: 'This divorce was not her decision. Tom made the move.'
In a 2021 interview with Dujour, Nicole said she believed her life with Tom and their children was 'perfect' and she was blindsided by the split.
The publication recounted how the star 'pleaded' with Tom to remain in the marriage - with her then adding: 'It took me a very long time to heal. It was a shock to my system.'
Seven months after the announcement, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge- which starred Nicole opposite Ewan McGregor - hit cinemas and became a global sensation.
The musical, which had a $50m budget, grossed almost $180m at the global box office and earned Nicole 18 award nominations - including a Golden Globe for Best Actress and an Oscar nod.
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise pictured with their adopted children Connor and Isabella in 1996
Pictured: Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge, which made almost $180m at the global box office in 2001
In a recent interview with GQ, Nicole, who rarely discusses her relationship with Tom, hinted that her confidence took a knock when she was filming Moulin Rouge.
She explained: 'When we started, I was like, "I'm not going to be able to deliver for [Baz Luhrmann]."
'Because it was singing live and dancing on top of all the comedy and drama and that. It felt like an out-of-reach film for me.'
Despite her nerves while filming, Nicole continued her award streak into 2003 - when she picked up a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her performance in The Hours.
The psychological drama - which also starred Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore - saw Nicole take on the role of Virgina Woolf as she struggles with depression while writing Mis Dalloway.
The New York Times' film critic said of her performance at the time: 'Kidman tunnels like a ferret into the soul of a woman besieged by excruciating bouts of mental illness.
'As you watch her wrestle with the demon of depression, it’s as if its torment has never been shown on the screen before.'
The performance earned Nicole an Academy Award - and in her tearful acceptance speech, the star paid tribute to her daughter Isabella Jane Cruise, whom she adopted with Tom.
Nicole Kidman and her children Connor and Isabella attend a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat at the Staples Center in December 2004
Pictured: Nicole Kidman posing with her Best Actress Academy Award in 2003, which she won for her role in The Hours
Pictured: Nicole Kidman with parents Anthony and Janelle Kidman at the 2003 Academy Awards
Fighting back tears, she said: 'I'm standing here in front of my mother and my daughter.
'My whole life I've wanted to make my mother proud and now I want to make my daughter proud. So thank you.'
Elsewhere in her interview with DuJour, Nicole said she left the Oscars 'feeling alone' and added: 'I wanted to fall in love again, but I wasn’t sure I could.'
Tom Cruise's 'dull film' era
While Nicole Kidman's career began soaring in the wake of the split, the same can't be said of Tom Cruise, who starred in a series of blockbusters that failed to impress critics.
Following Mission Impossible II's release in 2000, the actor's later projects weren't quite as well received.
In 2002, the actor starred in the thriller Vanilla Sky about a publishing magnate who is left disfigured from a car accident and begins having lucid dreams, causing him to question his reality.
Despite being a commercial success, Vanilla Sky was widely panned by critics.
Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz film a scene of their movie Vanilla Sky in New York's Times Square in November 2000
Pictured: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin in Steven Spielberg's 2005 blockbuster War of the Worlds
Describing it as a 'high-concept vanity project', The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw complained at the time: 'This is a cumbersome and bombastic film, lumbered with pseudo-futuristic ideas.'
Labelling the film 'bizarre', the BBC's film critic added: 'The storyline is simple but at the same time extremely convoluted.'
Although 2002's Minority Report got Cruise's career back on track, The War of the Worlds, which is also directed by Steven Spielberg, was dubbed 'unambitious and dull'.
And while his ex-wife was dominating the award scene, Tom Cruise was being overlooked for top accolades during this time.
Following his Magnolia Oscar nod, the action star wasn't nominated for another Oscar until 2023 with Top Gun: Maverick.
On top of this, he was also overlooked for a Golden Globe for The Last Samurai - and has not won one of the awards since 2000.
Pictured: Tom Cruise poses with his Golden Globe, which he won in 1997 for his role in Jerry McGuire
'Deadbeat dad' narrative
Since his split from Nicole, Tom has also had his fair share of public image crises.
After their divorce was finalised in 2001, Tom went on to marry Katie Holmes in 2006 - with the couple welcoming their daughter Suri seven months beforehand.
In July 2012, the couple announced they were separating - with reports at the time claiming that Tom had 'not seen' the divorce coming.
But sources insisted that she did tell her husband of five-and-a-half years that she was filing for divorce – but she didn't give him a chance to control the spread of the news, as he did with Nicole Kidman.
Last year, an insider told MailOnline that Tom Cruise 'does not exist' to his daughter Suri, whom he shares with third ex-wife.
Around the time of her 18th birthday, sources claimed Suri does not have a relationship with his daughter.
Pictured: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes on their wedding day in Italy in November 2006. The couple split in 2012
Pictured: Tom Cruise with his daughter Suri in New York in October 2008. Around the time of her 18th birthday, sources claimed Suri does not have a relationship with his daughter
An insider said: 'Suri will not have any contact with her father, despite being 18, and even if he called, she would not answer.
'He does not exist to Katie or Suri, and his daughter does not want to rely on him for anything.
'She feels that she has one parent and that is her mother.'
At the time of his split from Katie, sources close to the Dawson's Creek actress said she and her ex were keen on co-parenting Suri, but in recent years Tom has not been seen in public with his daughter.
Last June, it was revealed Suri has dropped her father's surname - and now goes by Suri Noelle, which is Katie's middle name.
At the time of his split from Katie, sources close to the Dawson's Creek actress said she and her ex were keen on co-parenting Suri, but in recent years Tom has not been seen in public with his daughter
Pictured: Katie Holmes and her daughter Suri Cruise were seen enjoying a stroll together in New York in April 2024
In 2013, Tom sued In Touch magazine for $50 million when the outlet reported that he 'abandoned' his daughter.
When the case played out in court, Tom said that he was not able to see Suri due to his busy work schedule.
He told the court that he did not see Suri for 100 days because he was filming a movie overseas called All You Need is Kill in London.
'Unfortunately in this situation it was impossible,' he told the court, according to People. He added that, far from abandoning his daughter, he called her every day -
'You have to work at it. I’ve gotten very good at it. I tell wonderful stories,' Tom told the court.
Days after missing Suri's high school graduation last June, Tom Cruise was seen attending Taylor Swift's Eras Tour London - which sparked outrage online.
Pictured: Tom Cruise attending Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. After footage of him arriving at Wembley was posted on TikTok , one critic sarcastically wrote: 'If only he had a daughter he could share this magical moment with'
Tom Cruise, 62, was given the US Navy Distinguished Public Service Award in December 2024 - sparking outrage online
After footage of him arriving at Wembley was posted on TikTok, one critic sarcastically wrote: 'If only he had a daughter he could share this magical moment with.'
While another branded him a 'deadbeat dad' on a second video, a third added: 'Where is Suri?'
A third wrote: 'He could have been there with Suri but he chose not to be a father to her.'
Months later, Tom Cruise faced another PR crisis - when the US Navy awarded him the highest honour a civilian can receive for being their 'best recruiter'.
The Mission Impossible star was given the US Navy Distinguished Public Service Award by US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.
He was credited with promoting Naval service throughout his career, specifically by starring in the Top Gun movie franchise.
But Cruise's accomplishment, celebrated at Longcross Studios in Surrey, sparked waves of outrage from those who believe he did nothing to earn the coveted accolade.
'Is this a joke?' someone posted on Facebook.
'He PRETENDS to be in the military and gets a medal for ACTING…ridiculous…' one Redditor asserted.
'Shouldn't this be given to someone who has shown exceptional bravery or courage rather than giving it to an actor?' another asked.
Nicole cracks small screen with Big Little Lies
Pictured: Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies. The actress was paid $1m-an-episode for the second season
In 2020, Nicole starred in The Undoing, opposite Hugh Grant, in her second smash-hit book-to-TV adaptation
Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber in Netflix's TV series The Perfect Couple, which landed on the streaming platform last year and was also based on a book
After mastering the big screen with hit films The Stepford Wives, Australia and Before I Go to Sleep, Nicole decided to turn her attention to TV dramas.
In 2017, the actress was cast as Celeste Wright in Big Little Lies, alongside Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley and Zoe Kravitz.
Both Reese and Nicole had reportedly tried to option the Liane Moriarty book through their production companies before deciding to become executive producers.
At the time, it was reported Nicole was paid $250,000 for every episode of the first series.
However, this increased to $1m-an-episode in season two following the show's glowing reception.
The star - who remarried country singer Keith Urban in 2006 - is now one of television's most highly-paid actresses and was given the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 2024
Sunday Rose Kidman Urban and Nicole Kidman attend W Magazine's Annual Best Performances Party at Chateau Marmont in January 2025
In their rave review, Variety's Sonia Saraiya wrote: '[Nicole] is so good at becoming this flawed and strange character that she is hauntingly arresting; her scenes with husband Perry are tense and obsessively engaging, ripe with subtext and violent eroticism.
'Celeste, like Madeline, could easily be a type — in her case, a sort of opulent cautionary tale, bouncing between fading bruises and diamond necklaces — but Kidman’s sensitive treatment of the role gives Celeste agency along with her victimhood.'
Meanwhile, The New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum added: 'In each role, there is something waxen and watchful and self-possessed about Kidman, so that, even when she’s smiling, she never seems liberated.
'While other actors specialise in transparency, Kidman has a different gift: she can wear a mask and simultaneously let you feel what it’s like to hide behind it.'
Nicole won two Critics' Choice Television Awards for her role as star and producer of Big Little Lies - as well as two Emmys and two Golden Globes.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman pictured in Los Angeles 1992 - nine years before their split sent shockwaves through Hollywood
Although the actor insisted his ex-wife 'knew why' he filed in 2001, Nicole's representative told the Daily Mail: 'This divorce was not her decision. Tom made the move'
In 2020, Nicole starred in The Undoing, opposite Hugh Grant, in her second smash-hit book-to-TV adaptation.
The actress played respected therapist Grace Fraser, whose life is turned upside down after her husband is accused of the murder of a fellow private school mother.
Giving it four stars out of five, the Evening Standard's Katie Rosseinsky dubbed the 'gloriously OTT melodrama the perfect winter watch'.
The critic gushed: 'Each episode teeters on a delicious cliffhanger that’ll leave you counting the days until the next one.'
In 2024, she was also awarded the American Film Institute's prestigious Life Achievement Award, which has previously been given to Orson Welles, Bette Davies, Alfred Hitchcock, Elizabeth Taylor, Steven Spielberg and Meryl Streep
Pictured: Nicole Kidman and her country singer husband Keith Urban. The couple share daughter Sunday Rose Kidman Urban
Meanwhile, Variety's Caroline Framke wrote of her performance: 'Nicole Kidman is unparalleled in the art of playing a woman who’s equal parts flinty determination and distraught pain.
'When her face falls in shock, her character is likely to fight the instinct to fall apart, instead steeling herself for whatever’s yet to come.'
Last year, Nicole starred in her third TV book adaptation - when she took on the role of Greer Garrison Winbury in Netflix's the Perfect Couple.
In 2024, she was also awarded the American Film Institute's prestigious Life Achievement Award, which has previously been given to Orson Welles, Bette Davies, Alfred Hitchcock, Elizabeth Taylor, Steven Spielberg and Meryl Streep.
Taking to the stage ahead of Nicole, her doting husband Keith said: 'Babygirl – I'm so proud of you, and as much as I could come off sounding like the biased husband, I'll let the list of previous honorees do all of the talking for me. What a list!'
Her mother Janelle tragically died just hours before she was awarded Best Actress for her role in Babygirl on the final day of Venice Film Festival in September in a huge achievement (pictured with her mother)
Nicole had an equally close relationship with her father Antony and was left devastated when he died of a heart attack in September 2014 at the age of 75 (they are pictured in 2005)
Nicole's mother Janelle tragically died just hours before she was awarded Best Actress for her role in Babygirl on the final day of Venice Film Festival in September in a huge achievement.
She recalled: 'I arrived in Venice and she was gone. I got the call. I said to Halina, "Can you go on stage for me?"
Her director Halina Reijn read a statement from the actor, revealing that Nicole's mother Janelle died at the age of 83 while she was in Venice.
Nicole continued: 'Now I’m on stage, and I’m back here. Thank you for giving me the chance to say this is for my mom.
'My whole career has been for my mom and my dad and they’re not here anymore. I want to keep working and giving to the world.
'I’m sorry I’m crying. I didn’t want to do that but I feel my mama right now. This is for your mama.'
Nicole was born in Honolulu and raised in Sydney by her beloved mother Janelle and her psychologist father Antony, who died in September 2014.
The actress has long had an incredibly close relationship with her beloved mother Janelle and often spoke about her support and influence on her career over the years.
Nicole was forced to leave Venice Film Festival to return to her native Sydney to be with her family after the devastating news.
