Nicole Kidman vamps it up in steamy Cannes contender

CANNES: Nicole Kidman sizzles as a small-town vamp drawn to a convicted murderer in Lee Daniels' "The Paperboy", marking the US director's return to Cannes Thursday after his harrowing hit "Precious".

The steamy new picture, set partly in Florida's humid swamps, features a bleached-blonde Kidman as Charlotte, who carries on correspondence with dozens of prison inmates in the late 1960s.

The film, one of 22 in the running for the festival's Palme d'Or top prize to be handed out on Sunday, divided the audience at an early press screening, drawing an even mix of applause and boos.

The Australian Kidman, who dials down her natural glamour and turns up the sex appeal in the role of the small-town seductress, said she had been looking for "something raw and more dangerous" when she was given Daniels' screenplay.

"I had seen 'Precious' and I thought it was amazing and I wanted to work with him," she said after the screening.

"Precious", which tells the story of an African-American incest survivor, screened in the festival's Un Certain Regard sidebar section before going on to two Academy Award nominations. (AFP)

Madame Tussauds to open in Sydney

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman are expected to be among the first Australian stars to feature when waxworks museum Madame Tussauds opens a venue in Sydney next year, the company said Thursday.

The world-famous London attraction will begin welcoming visitors in the Darling Harbour tourist district of the city next May.

"The latest attraction will reflect the franchise's 200 years of expertise and research, with each figure crafted with both a high level of artistry and accuracy," the company said.

"Most contemporary figures are also produced following sittings with the celebrities themselves, and talks are already well advanced with a number of Australian icons."

The first Australian to be waxed will be "Home and Away" soap opera actor Ray Meagher, who has played Alf Stewart in the popular series since 1988. Politicians and sports stars are also expected to feature.

There are already branches of the museum in cities across the globe, including Hong Kong, Las Vegas, New York, Amsterdam and Bangkok. (AFP)

Kidman, Urban welcome new baby girl

LOS ANGELES: Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman and her country star husband, Keith Urban, have added a second daughter to their family, born via a surrogate mother in the United States.

The Australian couple today announced the arrival of Faith Margaret Kidman Urban, born on December 28 at a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital.

Faith was born at the Centennial Medical Centre under a veil of secrecy, involving the celebrity couple booking out the entire top floor of the hospital and secretly entering the facility via a staff-only service elevator.

Kidman and Urban are Faith's biological parents. Initial reports had said the baby girl was born last week. Kidman and Urban released a statement thanking everyone for their support.

"Our family is truly blessed, and just so thankful, to have been given the gift of baby Faith Margaret," the couple said.

"No words can adequately convey the incredible gratitude that we feel for everyone who was so supportive throughout this process, in particular our gestational carrier."

Kidman and Urban, both 43, were married in 2006 and have another daughter together, Sunday Rose, 2.

Kidman credited Sunday's unexpected appearance to swimming in the waters of a small Australian outback town during the filming of the film Australia.

She and six other women became pregnant after swimming in Kununurra.

Kidman and Urban probably deserve this year's best actress and actor Academy Awards for keeping Faith a secret.

Kidman has been on the hustings in the US, Australia and Europe undertaking numerous interviews to promote her latest project Rabbit Hole, a harrowing drama she produced and stars in as a mother dealing with the sudden death of a young son.

Urban has also sat through plenty of interviews.

And the pair made no mention of Faith yesterday when they attended the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles.

Kidman missed out on the Golden Globe best dramatic actress award for Rabbit Hole, with expectant mother Natalie Portman taking the gold statue for her performance in Black Swan.

Kidman has two adopted children with former husband Tom Cruise, 18-year-old daughter Isabella and 15-year-old son Connor, who live with Cruise in Los Angeles, but the teenagers are rarely seen in public with Kidman.

Kidman has hinted about her desire to have children and said in the latest issue of the US edition of Harper's Bazaar magazine that Isabella and Connor do not regularly visit her in Nashville.

"No, they don't," Kidman said.

"They're not crazy about Nashville. They're so grown up now. I mean, they're adults."

New Celebbrity Trend?

Sandra Bullock surprised the world last April when it was revealed that she had adopted a baby boy at the beginning of the year, yet had managed to keep him a secret through a shocking split from husband Jesse James and a slew of public appearances during a successful awards season where she won the Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG and Critics Choice Award.

And now it seems fellow awards nominee Nicole Kidman was taking notes.
In a statement released on Monday, reps for Kidman and her country crooner husband Keith Urban confirmed that the Australian couple is biological parents to Faith Margaret Kidman Urban, who was born on Dec. 28 at The Women’s Hospital at Centennial in Nashville via a gestational carrier.

"Our family is truly blessed, and just so thankful, to have been given the gift of baby Faith Margaret," the family said in a statement. "No words can adequately convey the incredible gratitude that we feel for everyone who was so supportive throughout this process, in particular our gestational carrier."

But is the “surprise baby” becoming a Hollywood trend?

“The revelation that Nicole and Keith had quietly become parents again last month was definitely a huge surprise, I don’t think anyone saw that coming,” pop culture/entertainment expert Scott Huver told Pop Tarts. “It certainly feels like a replay of last year’s Sandra Bullock story, where she navigated the entire Hollywood awards show circuit without giving the media any hint that she had a new baby at home. Sandra definitely kept her awards tour focused away from what she had going on at home, avoiding allowing baby news to overshadow her successful bid for the Oscar. But with big events left to Nicole to hit – she’s up for a Screen Actors Guild Award and is in the running for an Oscar nomination – she’s definitely opened the floodgates for questions about the new baby to take center stage.”

Kidman and Urban happily relished in all the glitz and glamour of awards season over the weekend, showing no signs of being weary parents with a newborn at home.

“I haven’t been with familiar with awards season recently so it is just really nice to part of it again with this film,” Kidman exclusively told FOX411’s Pop Tarts at the Critics Choice Awards on Friday evening, where she was nominated for her work in “Rabbit Hole.” “It’s been five years in the making and I’m just so grateful to be included. Sometimes you can’t help but hear what critics say about you, but I have to say the critics took this film and really made it what it is.”

The following day, Kidman, 43, made an appearance at the BAFTA Los Angeles Award Season Tea (sans Urban) and on Sunday was all smiles as she and Urban strode hand-in-hand down the red carpet at the Golden Globes, where Kidman was again nominated for "Rabbit Hole."

However, the evening didn’t end for the proud new parents who later hit up the Relativity Media and The Weinstein Company's Golden Globe After Party, followed by the CAA party at the famed Sunset Towers.

“It definitely seemed unusual that, with a new baby at home and with their primary residence in Nashville, Nicole and Keith made time in their schedule to make the full rounds on the party-packed Globes weekend rather than just slipping in for the big day on Sunday,” added Huver. “I'm sure they're enjoying a doubly celebratory time in their personal and professional lives right now.”

Married in 2006, Kidman and Urban welcomed daughter Sunday Rose into the world in July 2008. Kidman and former husband Tom Cruise also adopted two children, Isabella and Conner, during their marriage. PE1

Just a couple of weeks before Faith was born, Kidman was pinching herself that life was real.

“I’m in a state of absolute wonder, having all this in my life, I never thought this was going to be me in my forties. A new baby. I just love the energy of young children in the house, it is just lovely. It puts me in a state of humility and compassion,” Kidman told Pop Tarts while promoting “Rabbit Hole,” which she both starred in and produced. “I just want to have my husband, my baby and Bella and Conner. For me, they’re my favorite people in the world.”

A Minute With Nicole Kidman working on "Rabbit Hole"

Oscar winning actress Nicole Kidman has scored positive reviews, and a Golden Globe nomination, for her role as a mother dealing with the death of her child in the independent film "Rabbit Hole."

The film was released last week in major US theaters and expands around the country starting on Christmas day.

"Rabbit Hole" is based on the Pulitzer prize-winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire. Kidman stars alongside Aaron Eckhart as grieving couple Becca and Howie. Kidman also produced the film, marking it the inaugural project from her company, Blossom Films.

Kidman, who lives in Nashville with her country star husband Keith Urban and their daughter Sunday Rose, spoke about the film, her family and being a mother.

Q: How did you come across the play?
A: "I read the review of 'Rabbit Hole' in the New York Times. Living in Nashville, I get the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. That's my contact with the city because that's where I used to live and I'm a theater buff. When I read the review, I thought, 'Gosh, that sounds like rich material.'"

Q: As a mother, you felt for Becca's pain?
A: "When we first optioned the play, I wasn't pregnant. This has been years in the making, so there wasn't a thought of being pregnant. I thought I'd never get pregnant. But I get what she goes through. I get her relationship with her mother, her sister, God. I get the way in which she is so angry."

Q: How did you prepare to play a woman who goes through something no parent should ever have to face?
A: "I read stuff. I tried to go to a grief group but I was told 'No, you're not allowed. You can only step into these rooms if you lost a child.' I totally get it, yet for whatever reason, that rawness was available to me. Maybe it was from giving birth (to daughter Sunday Rose) 11 months prior."

Q: The subject must have made for a difficult shoot.
A: "It was more like there was a big thrust to honor the people who are going through this right now. There's almost something lifting you up, going 'Come on, if someone can actually be living this, I can be living this.'"

Q: How has motherhood impacted your career?
A: "Time is the most precious thing. I'm very particular about how I spend it. I'm more reluctant to leave my family. Keith and I are very tight, and we're never separated. If we are, it's no more than three days."

Q: How is motherhood today different than it was when you were raising Connor and Isabella (with ex-husband Tom Cruise)?
A: "I raised two kids when I was in my 20s, but that was a different thing. I was a kid and still so young mentally and emotionally -- a totally different mom."

Q: And now?
A: "There is something about mothering late in life. A lot of it is I want to stay alive for Sunday. There is plenty of deep fear and emotion. Sunday has healed an enormous amount in me. It's a very private thing, but she just has."

Q: What's Sunday like now?
A: "She's two and a half and in what we call 'the raccoon' stage because she's into everything. She's into this, she's into that. She's just really hard to wrangle at this stage."

Q: Were you like that as a kid?
A: "I don't think so. I was more placid. But Keith rode BMX bikes and grew up in a pretty rambunctious family. Sunday's got a lot of her dad's face and a lot of his DNA."

Q: You and Keith were both raised in Australia and you're now living the country life in the United States. Does Sunday have any of your Aussie roots in her?
A: "Our daughter is a Tennessee girl, but she still says 'G'day mate.' She says both 'Hi y'all' and 'G'day mate.'"

Q: Any plans on expanding the family?
A: "We're hoping for another one!"

Nicole Kidman joins Broadway play

Actress Nicole Kidman has joined the cast of a Broadway play.

Kidman has signed to star in a revival of Tennessee Williams's Sweet Bird of Youth, reports Gossip Cop.

The 43-year-old will portray an ageing alcoholic film star named Alexandra Del Lago.

Kidman performed on Broadway in 1998's theatrical run of The Blue Room, in which she appeared nude on stage.

Celebrities and Their Odd Phobias …

Phobias aren’t as abnormal as most people think. I’m severely arachnophobic, and cannot stand spiders. They don’t scare me, as such, they terrify me. And I have a friend who is so claustrophobic that anything less than a medium sized room will induce vomiting and panic attacks, almost straight away. Phobias always seemed to be something quite secret, though, so I was surprised to learn that these ten celebs have them too!

1. Johnny Depp
The fearless pirate isn’t as fearless as he first seemed… he suffers from arachnophobia, plasmophobia and coulrophobia. Which means he is scared of spiders, ghosts and clowns! “There’s something about the painted face and the fake smile. There seems to be a real darkness lurking under the surface, a potential for real evil,” Depp explained. Well, I’m with him on the spiders, and I do my best to avoid clowns!

2. Billy Bob Thornton
Angelina Jolie’s ex Thornton has a phobia of antiques… he refuses to stay in the room with furniture made before 1950. Which sounds very unusual, but apparently 250,000 people in America suffer from this same problem. “I’ve had friends tell me that maybe I was beaten to death by an antique chair in a former life,” Billy has said, by way of explanation… well, whatever causes it, it’s not as rare a phobia as I thought!

3. Alfred Hitchcock
Film maker and produced Hitchcock has another odd phobia… the fear of eggs. Especially runny ones… people who worked with Alfred claimed that cracking an egg made him gag, and he wouldn’t eat any food containing eggs. And suddenly my fear of spiders doesn’t seem that bad… His daughter explained her dad’s fear by saying, “He just said they were so horrible-looking… that you’d cut into them and that yellow stuff would run all over. He thought it was absolutely disgusting.”

4. Christina Ricci
Christina suffers from botanaphobia, which is a fear of house plants. Sufferers find plants dirty, and can’t bring themselves to water them… Christina admitted, “If I have to touch one, after already being repulsed by the fact that there is a plant indoors, it freaks me out.” So I guess she doesn’t have green fingers… I think I’d miss my house plants if I had to put them all outside!

5. Tyra Banks
While most of us would love to swim with our intelligent friends, Tyra won’t be jumping in the pool with dolphins anytime soon. “I have dreams that I’m in a pool and there are dolphins bumping me and I am frightened.” She revealed, and she has reportedly suffered from the phobia since she was just eight years old. A pretty rare phobia!

6. Matthew McConaughey
Matthew has famously admitted to having a fear of revolving doors, and of tunnels. It’s not being underground that bothers him, but the point where you go from being above ground to underneath… and he’s also revealed that he hasn’t worn deodorant in twenty years. I’m a little anxious about revolving doors myself, especially the vicious ones…

7. Nicole Kidman
Nicole suffers from lepidopterophobia, which is a fancy word for the fear of butterflies. “It’s so bizarre. I’m not scared of snakes or spiders,” Kidman revealed, and even tried to face her fear by going through the butterfly exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, but couldn’t make it through. I share the same fear… I can’t go outside if I can see a butterfly. I love their colours, and their patterns, but their bodies scare me and I’m terrified if they land on me.

8. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey has a weird phobia…she’s scared of chewing gum. There is a rational explanation, however. “My grandmother used to save it (used gum) in little rows in the cabinet. I’d be scared to touch it because it was so gross, so I have a thing about gum. One guest in my home sat at the dinner table, took out some gum from her mouth and put it on the plate. After she left, I threw the plate out.” I think I’d be pretty scared of gum after that, too.

9. Madonna
Madonna has something in common with my dog… they are both utterly petrified of thunder. Named brontophobia, it’s a surprisingly common phobia! It can cause panic attacks, trembling, crying, a rapid heartbeat and a feeling of dread, even if the sufferer knows they are at no risk. I’m not particularly good during thunder storms, especially if I’m alone, so I sympathise!

10. Natalie Wood
Actress Natalie Wood suffered from hydrophobia, a fear of water, for her entire life. She died in 1981, after falling out of a boat into the water, and drowning. Her death was recorded as accidental drowning, as Wood had drank a few glasses of wine and didn’t remove her heavy coat and sweater. It makes you think, though… maybe phobias do have a purpose?
Well, now I’ve made myself look like a scaredy-cat (I’m not scared of life, I promise, but I do flinch at my own shadow)… I’m fascinated by how normal phobias are! It would appear that most people are scared of something, and that makes me feel a lot better. Have you got a phobia, or do you know of a celeb I’ve missed off? I’d love to hear about it!

Nicole Kidman And Keith Urban Hit The Links

Taking a break from their parental and work duties, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban enjoyed a day at the links in Maui, Hawaii on Sunday (May 2).

The lovely couple carted around the grounds of the gorgeous Wailea Golf Course, as they're currently in Hawaii while Nicole films her new movie "Just Go With It".

In related news, it was recently revealed that Keith will be teaming up with John Mayer for a show at The Gorge in Spokane, Washington on August 10th.

Of the planned gig, Keith tells, “I had the best time playing with John on CMT Crossroads. There’s a certain simpatico between us as guitar players that, I think, comes from sharing the same desire to express the unwritten. Playing together at The Gorge will be like adding a musical score to the most magnificent setting in a film.”

Meanwhile, Mayer adds, “CMT Crossroads was the first time I performed with Keith but the creative rapport was there right away. I’m looking forward to performing together again and I hope it’s one of many opportunities to work together in the future.”

Nicole funds school in Haiti

Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman and her musician husband Keith Urban are planning to fund a school to provide education and medical needs to children in Haiti.

The 'Australia' star and the country singer are keen to help the earthquake-stricken nation by giving money to an education facility, Access Hollywood reported. "We're actually going to be funding a school down there for the next five years," said Urban.

The couple are aiming at establishing a school which will not only impart education but also help children by providing basic health amenities. "It's in Port-Au-Prince. The kids will also have one hot meal a day. They'll have all of their medical taken care of by the school, and clothing, as well," said Urban.

The couple is reportedly joining forces with Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis and the Artists for Peace and Justice organisation to spearhead the project.

Gardening is Nicole Kidman's stress-buster

The 42-year-old mum-of-three, who is married to country singer Keith Urban, said she picked the habit from her mother.

“I grew up with a mother who, when she was stressed, would go out and garden,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

“Somehow, that’s rubbed off on my sister and myself. My dad got my sister and I running and my mum would garden.

“My sister runs, I run and we’re both gardeners. I’m about to start on roses,” she added

Hollywood star Nicole Kidman reveals growing pains

NICOLE KIDMAN says her teenage years were "awful" because she was so tall.

The Nine actress says she had a growth spurt when she was 13 and towered over most of her classmates.

She said: "I'm 5ft 11in but I was this tall when I was 13. It was awful. No boys liked me. It was tough."

The Moulin Rouge! star also revealed she is expecting her 18-month-old daughter, Sunday, to take after her as she towers over other tots her age.

She said: "She's off the chart for height."

Flu cancelled Nicole's trip to Kenya

The Australian actress was to fly to the African nation as part of an initiative launched by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), reports Imdb

Kidman planned to visit schools and hospitals in the country and raise awareness about women's rights, but has now pulled out of the tour after falling ill.

"Nicole is deeply sorry that, because she is ill with the seasonal flu, she cannot come to Kenya. The 'Say No - Unite to End Violence against Women' campaign is a top priority and together with UNIFEM she will work to advance this critical initiative," a representative for Kidman said in a statement.

Rubina Ali finds Nicole Kidman strange

New York :: Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali found Hollywood beauty Nicole Kidman “strange.” The 9-year-old recently filmed a French commercial for Schweppes beverages with the Australia star at Lake Palace in India. The advert helmed by Ridley Scott shows Rubina as a kid captivated with Kidman's Indian princess character.
Now, in her autobiography, "Slumgirl Dreaming: Journey to the Stars", the little kid shares her experience of working with the big actress. She writes: “I really liked her, but she was very quiet and didn''t speak much. I think she was a bit shy."

Also, the child star confessed that the Australian beauty seemed "strange" to her, the New York Daily News reports. The book further reveals that Kidman stayed in her trailer during the entire shoot, scared that the sun would damage her fair complexion.

According to the Daily Mail, the book penned by journalist Divya Dugar, canvasses Ali’s upbringing in the slums of Mumbai to her rise to fame.