Advertisement

Nicole Kidman shares how her pale skin was the unlikely reason she got into acting

Nicole Kidman's acting career began in the 1980s. (Getty Images)
Nicole Kidman's acting career began in the 1980s. (Getty Images)

She is one of the world's most famous film stars, but it was an unlikely reason that first led Nicole Kidman towards the big screen.

The actress, 54, revealed that it was her pale skin, and the fact it was prone to sunburn during her childhood growing up in sunny Australia, that first lead her to try out acting.

She told radio presenter Terry Gross that instead of being outdoors she would stay inside and pass the time performing in plays by Russian writer Anton Chekhov.

The Oscar-winner said: "I've played every role in Chekhov – in my bedroom, at all different hours, day or night.

"Little did I know that that was going to lead me to my vocation."

The actress, pictured in 1998, would first started doing plays as a child. (Getty Images)
The actress, pictured in 1998, first started acting in plays as a child. (Getty Images)

Kidman got her acting breakthrough in the 1989 film Dead Calm, before garnering international recognition in the 1990 film Days Of Thunder.

She has since appeared in movies including Moulin Rouge and Boy Erased, as well as TV series Big Little Lies and The Undoing.

Recently, the actress told Harper's Bazaar how she cares for her pale complexion and keeps it looking youthful.

Read more: Julianne Moore, 60, reveals the simple everyday habits behind her youthful looks

Kidman said: "As a fair-skinned girl, I've worn sun cream since I was a kid."

She revealed that she uses Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sun-screen Broad Spectrum SPF100+ every day, even when the weather is cloudy.

The star added that she also religiously removes her make-up each night, and double cleanses.

Kidman is married to singer Keith Urban, with whom she has two children, and also shares two children with actor ex-husband Tom Cruise.

Watch: Outrageously expensive celebrity divorce settlements