Nicole Kidman

At 51 Nicole Kidman is riding high professionally and personally. In a Weekly exclusive Juliet Rieden talks to the Aussie icon about the turning points in her life and career and asks her closest friends what makes Nicole tick.

Ask Nicole Kidman’s friends to describe her in just three words and a fascinating picture starts to build. She’s “mischievous, curious and compassionate. Funny as hell, brave, smart and intensely loyal”. She’s “daring, dedicated, original, intelligent and a courageous risktaker”. She’s “honest, loving and quirky … charming, radiant, playful”. She “loves to party” and, jokes the diminutive Naomi Watts, she’s “tall!”

It’s an impressive word storm of epithets that offers a telling glimpse of the real Nicole; the intense, passionate and fun-loving woman behind the red-carpet glamour and the insane background babble of frustratingly inaccurate tabloid gossip.

Most of those I spoke to are Aussies who have known Nicole since the early days through the best and worst of times: actors Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts, Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman; filmmakers Jane Campion, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, and writer Kathy Lette. And then there’s international friends who Nicole has worked with along the way and stayed close to like British director Stephen Daldry, her “work husband” US producer Per Saari, and her co-star and collaborator in Big Little Lies Reese Witherspoon. What’s conspicuous is that everyone is eager to talk about Nicole and all have their own special moments to impart – which we’ll come to later.

When I ask Nicole if she recognises herself in here, there’s a sharp intake of breath. “I hope so. They’re fantastic words ... I try to live that way.”