Saturday, January 13, 2007
Nicole Kidman
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 20, 1967, Kidman moved with her parents to their native Australia several years later, where she grew up in Longueville, a Sydney suburb.
Interested in play-acting as a child, the future Hollywood star was in drama school by age 10, and by 14 appeared in her first professional role in the TV movie Bush Christmas, now a perennial holiday favorite on Australian TV.
From Aussie TV to Hollywood
In a series of other TV movie roles throughout the 80's, the 19-year old Kidman later gained international recognition in the movie thriller, Dead Calm in a critically acclaimed performance alongside Sam Neil and Billy Zane.
Future husband Tom Cruise also took notice and helped to cast her in his next star vehicle, Days of Thunder in 1989. The couple were married in December 1990 and would go on to appear together in Far and Away in 1992 and later in Eyes Wide Shut.
Meanwhile, it wasn't until Kidman's tour-de-force performance in To Die For in 1995 - as an ambitious, homicidal housewife - before she came into her own as a dramatic actress.
Her star continued to rise the following year with roles in Jane Champion's adaptation of The Portrait of a Lady, and opposite George Clooney in The Peacemaker. Then she created an international sensation with a stage performance in The Blue Room with a nude scene that was described as "theatrical Viagra" and the talk of both London and in New York when the actress moved with the show to Broadway.
Award Winner
In 1999, Kidman reteamed with Cruise to mixed reviews in the controversial Eyes Wide Shut directed by Stanley Kubrick. The following year, she was praised by critics for her lead role in Moulin Rouge, which cast her as a 19th century Parisian courtesan.
She followed that role wth a chilling performance in the ghostly The Others, quickly followed by her Oscar win for The Hours in which she appeared almost unrecognizable playing author Virginia Woolfe.
Kidman later starred in the film remake of The Stepford Wives and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her starring role in Birth.
Most recent movie roles have included appearances as Samantha Stephens opposite Will Farrell in the remake of the 60's TV hit, Bewitched and in the title role as The Interpreter opposite Sean Penn.
http://www.chiff.com/pop-culture/nicole-kidman.htm
Zac Efron
Born Zachary David Alexander Efron on October 18, 1987, Zac Efron is one of the hottest young actors around today, due in large part to a starring role in Disney's High School Musical and a previous attention-getting performance in the WB series Summerland.
Growing up in San Luis Obispo, California, Zac Efron's parents recognized their young son's singing talent early on and encouraged him to perform on stage.
At age eleven, he was already appearing in a local production of Gypsy, and went on to appear in other roles in such regional theater productions as Peter Pan, The Music Man, and Mame.
By his early teens, Efron turned his attention to television with guest appearances on various TV shows including ER and The Guardian. Soon after, his breakthrough performance — that began with a guest spot on the WB series Summerland — eventually led to his being assigned a place as a regular cast member in the role of Cameron Bale.
http://www.chiff.com/pop-culture/zac-efron.htm
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