Nicole Kidman’s 10 most unforgettable movies and TV shows that prove she’s a Hollywood icon

Nicole Kidman didn’t become a Hollywood icon overnight. She took on roles that felt risky and stayed in them even when they got uncomfortable. She never relied on one type of character to keep her career going. She moved from period dramas to horror to musicals effortlessly.

She didn’t just star in big productions. She took smaller roles that still hit hard. She always knew how to carry a story without making it about herself.

You just see her showing up and doing the work. That’s what makes her unforgettable. This list looks at five of her strongest films and five shows that prove how much she matters to both the big and small screen. Each one shows a different side of her, and each one makes it impossible to look away.

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Nicole Kidman’s most unforgettable movies

1) Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Nicole Kidman plays Satine, who worked as a courtesan while dreaming of becoming a real actress. She moved through the musical with a mix of strength and sadness that never felt forced. Her voice sounded fragile in the love songs and strong in the duets.

When Satine learned she was dying, she didn’t cry or break down. She just paused and looked distant. That moment hit harder than any dramatic outburst. Kidman kept Satine grounded in a story full of chaos. Her scenes with Ewan McGregor gave the film its heart. This role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

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2) The Hours (2002)

Nicole Kidman played Virginia Woolf during the time she was writing Mrs Dalloway while also battling depression. She didn’t overplay the sadness or make the pain look clean. She spoke slowly and looked like she didn’t know how to stay still. Her face stayed calm while her eyes said something was wrong.

In a key scene with her husband she broke down without warning. That single moment shifts the weight of the entire film. Nothing about her felt exaggerated. She lets Woolf feel like someone trying to survive her own thoughts. This role won her the Academy Award for Best Actress.

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3) Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Nicole Kidman played Alice Harford, who lived with quiet frustration and buried desire. She had fewer scenes than Tom Cruise, but she set the entire film in motion. In a bedroom conversation, she told her husband she once considered leaving him for a stranger.

Her voice didn’t rise, and her expression barely moved. That calm delivery rattled everything around it. She didn’t need to scream to show how far gone she was. That scene redefined their entire relationship. Kidman gave Alice a quiet edge that made the movie more about control than s*x. Her performance is still talked about years later.

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4) The Others (2001)

Nicole Kidman played Grace, who lived in a dark house with two children who couldn’t handle sunlight. She stayed sharp and tense in every scene. She walked slowly and spoke in a strict tone like she was always one step from panic. The fear didn’t come from loud moments. It came from how still she was.

When things in the house started shifting, she didn’t collapse. She questioned her own mind instead. That made the story work because her doubt felt honest. When the twist came at the end it landed hard because Kidman never once played it like a ghost story.

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5) Rabbit Hole (2010)

Nicole Kidman played Becca, who had lost her son in a car accident and was trying to move forward when nothing made sense. She didn’t cry through the whole movie. She held it in like someone who had no space left to break. She watched an old video of her son and deleted it like it hurt too much to keep.

That one silent action said more than a monologue. She didn’t soften the edges of grief. She made it jagged and strange. In every scene, she looked like she was barely holding it together. That’s what made it so real.

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Nicole Kidman’s most unforgettable shows

1) Big Little Lies (2017–2019)

Nicole played Celeste Wright, who looked like she had a perfect life but lived with constant fear. She showed it through the way she hesitated to speak or how she sat completely still during therapy. She made people feel how hard it was for Celeste to leave her husband even when she knew she should.

Her courtroom scenes in season two showed a woman holding back rage while trying to keep custody of her kids. Kidman never asked the audience to feel sorry for her. She just showed what it looked like when someone tried to survive in plain sight.

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2) The Undoing (2020)

Nicole plays Grace Fraser who tried to stay calm while her world collapsed around her. She walked through scenes like someone replaying everything in her head. She let her posture and quiet pauses carry the weight of her character.

You could see doubt on her face even when she said nothing. Her silence during tense moments made every scene feel like it could break open. Kidman makes you question what Grace believed or if she even trusted herself. That kept the entire story on edge.

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3) Nine Perfect Strangers (2021)

Nicole played Masha, who ran a wellness retreat with strange rules and a colder sense of care. She spoke in a soft, steady voice and barely moved her face. She made people lean in instead of pushing emotion out. When her past started showing through, you could see how much she was trying to keep it locked away.

She didn’t react with panic or chaos. She stayed quiet and intense like someone trying to hold onto control. Kidman made Masha feel like a mystery without turning her into a joke. That gave the show its uneasy and slow-burning center.

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4) Roar (2022)

Nicole Kidman played a woman who found old photographs while packing her mother’s house as her mother struggled with memory loss. She started eating the photos as a way to hold onto the past. The idea was strange but Kidman didn’t treat it like a joke.

She moved through the episode like someone trying to stay close to something already gone. She didn’t cry or explain much. She held the story together with small gestures and quiet stares. Her performance made the surreal idea feel honest. Without her, that episode may have collapsed under its own concept. She kept it grounded.

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5) Expats (2024)

Nicole Kidman played Margaret, who lost her child during a trip to a busy market in Hong Kong. She didn’t speak much, and when she did, she looked like someone trying not to fall apart in public. She didn’t beg for attention or sympathy.

She moved like someone who no longer felt present. Her scenes with other grieving characters gave the story layers it needed. Kidman never made the role feel dramatic. She played Margaret as a mother living inside her own silence. That gave the show its emotional center.

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