Australian Actresses, Famous Australian Women

Do you know many Australian actresses? Here are some of the Australian celebrities that have made an international career in movies or theatre.

Actors Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett are just two of these famous Australian women. Below is a brief overview of their achievements.

Australian Actresses - Nicole Kidman

australian actresses - nicole kidman Photo courtesy of Michael Albov

Nicole Kidman is one of the most famous Australians.

She started her career, as a teenager, in the early 80s. Some of the films where she made an appearance include the children's movie "BMX Bandits" and "Bush Christmas". She played in television shows, such as "Five Mile Creek" or "A Country Practice", a long running drama.

Kidman was highly acclaimed for her leading role in the Australian film "Dead Calm", which set her on the road to stardom in 1989.

Her career includes:

an Oscar (2002) for her portrayal of Virginia Wolf in "The Hours",
three Golden Globe awards:

in 1995 for her role in "To Die For",
in 2001 for "Moulin Rouge",
in 2002 for "The Hours"

several nominations for the Golden Globe and Oscar,
many other prestigious awards and nominations of the film industry.

As of 2003 she has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

With such a career it is not a wonder that in 2006 she topped the list of the highest-paid actresses.

Australia has honoured her career and her contribution to humanitarian causes by making Nicole Kidman a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2006.

In 2008 she starred next to one of the other great Australian actors, Hugh Jackman in the epic movie "Australia", directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Nicole is currently married to one of the famous Australian singers, Keith Urban. The two celebrities have two daughters.

She was also married previously to Tom Cruise. They adopted two children.

Australian Actresses - Cate Blanchett

australian actresses - cate blanchett Photo courtesy of Siebbi

Cate Blanchett began her career in theatre in 1992. Two years later she played Ophelia in the "Hamlet" production of the "Company B" theatre in Sydney.

"Paradise Road", directed by another famous Australian, Bruce Beresford, marked her international debut in a movie in 1997.

In 1998 her astonishing portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I won her a Golden Globe, a BAFTA award and an Oscar nomination.

Playing strong and influential characters proved a successful strategy for Cate Blanchett:

In 2005 she won an Oscar for starring as Katherine Hepburn in "The Aviator" by Martin Scorsese.
She received three Oscar nominations:

for best supporting actress in "Notes on a Scandal", (2006)
for the best actress in "Elizabeth the Golden Age", the sequel to her first movie "Elizabeth", (2007)
for best supporting actress in "I'm Not There", where she played one of the six Bob Dylan characters in the picture, (2007).

Cate has an impressive list of awards and nominations for almost all the films she played in. She has a star in the Holywood Walk of Fame since 2008.

Cate continues to love theatre. She and her husband, Andrew Upton, another famous Australian dramatist and director are currently part of the board of directors and artistic co-directors of the Sydney Theatre Company.

Recent theatre projects for Cate Blanchett include Sydney Theatre's productions of:

"A Streetcar Named Desire", in 2009,
"Uncle Vanya" in 2010,
"Gross und Klein" - 2011.

Looking for more information about other famous Australian artists? Click here to read about Tony Collette and Natalie Imbruglia and about the accomplished artist, Heath Ledger.

References: www.wikipedia.org