The best Nicole Kidman movies and TV shows feature decades' worth of great releases that showcase the Australian actress' talents. After getting her start in smaller Australian films in the '80s, Kidman picked up her first major crossover role in the 1989 psychological thriller Dead Calm and this won her the attention of Hollywood, where her first big break came in the 1990 Tom Cruise action movie Days of Thunder. That led her on the path to becoming one of Hollywood’s top leading ladies.

Throughout her decades-long career, Nicole Kidman has won an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Primetime Emmy Award, and several Golden Globes Awards. She was also the first Australian actor to ever earn the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2024. She has taken on roles in just about every genre imaginable, from comedies and biopics to action movies, superhero fare, and even musicals. Kidman has also worked with famed directors Stanley Kubrick, Tony Scott, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Robert Eggers.

15 Holland (2025)

Nancy Vandergroot

Holland is a 2025 movie that will be released as an Amazon Prime Video exclusive. In the film, Nicole Kidman plays Nancy Vandergroot, a teacher who believes that her husband, Fred (Matthew Macfadyen), is living a double life. However, when she investigates her suspicions, she realizes that the truth is much worse than she believed. The film then puts the viewers in Nancy's mind, and as she begins to wonder if things are really bad or if it's all in her imagination, Holland keeps the viewers off-track as well.

Holland received mostly negative reviews and is certified rotten on Rotten Tomatoes. However, even the critics who hated the movie praised Kidman for her performance as the wife whose life is turned upside down. While bad reviews claim the story doesn't have as much of an impact as the mystery might suggest, they also state that Kidman is the MVP of the film, giving her enough personality to make sure the viewer won't forget her.

14 Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (2023)

Queen Atlanna

Nicole Kidman appeared in the first Aquaman movie toward the end but didn't have much to do in that story. It was Kidman's second role in DC Comics movies (following her role as Chase Meridian in Batman Forever), and she finally got a chance to work as an actual hero in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. In this sequel, Black Manta is back for revenge after Aquaman let his dad die in the last movie, and he has a new power source that could allow him to destroy Atlantis and bring down Aquaman.

After defeating him in the last movie, Aquaman has to seek help from his brother Orm. He also goes to his mother, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), for advice, and she proves to be a great ally in battle when the war comes to their front door. The second Aquaman movie is a slight letdown from the first. However, many of the complaints were because the DCU had already announced they were rebooting everything after the film, so many fans didn't think what happened here mattered.

13 Lioness (2023-2024)

Kaitlyn Meade

In 2023, the current king of television, Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Tulsa King) created the spy thriller Lioness. The series stars Zoe Saldaña as Joe McNamara, a CIA senior case officer in charge of the Lioness program in the field. This program enlists women operatives (known as Lionesses) to go undercover and battle the war on terror. In the series, she recruits a young Marine named Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) to go undercover to stop a criminal drug lord.

Nicole Kidman has a smaller role, but her character is an extremely important part of the story. Kidman plays Kaitlyn Meade, a CIA supervisor, and Joe's boss. Since she is Joe's superior, she is not in the field with her people and instead delivers orders from the capital. However, she often has to make tough decisions that could result in a life-or-death situation for the people under her watch. The series received mixed reviews, although the second season had a much higher 89% fresh rating.

12 Bombshell (2019)

Gretchen Carlson

Bombshell is a biographical drama that retells the true-life story of how three women at Fox News exposed CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. The three women included Megyn Kelly (played by Charlize Theron), Gretchen Carlson (played by Nicole Kidman), and a composite character played by Margot Robbie. John Lithgow plays CEO Roger Ailes. Kidman's Carlson was the co-anchor removed from Fox & Friends after receiving sexist comments by Ailes, and the woman who started the ball rolling.

Bombshell has mixed critical reviews, sitting at 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics claimed that the film had a great cast and a good subject but never really went deep enough into the story to match up with similar #MeToo movies of the time like She Said (about the Harvey Weinstein investigation). However, it did receive awards attention, with Theron and Robbie picking up Oscar nominations and Kidman receiving an AACTA Awards nomination.

11 Babygirl (2024)

Romy Mathis

Nicole Kidman returned to the realm of erotic thrillers in 2024 with Babygirl. In the film, Kidman plays Romy Mathis, the CEO of a robotic process automation company in New York City. She is unfulfilled in her sex life with her husband (Antonio Banderas) and begins an affair with a much younger man (Harris Dickinson) who interns for her company. Kidman, who is almost 30 years older than Dickinson, is at her sexiest in the movie as she begins to spiral deeper into her adulterous affair.

Critics gave the movie positive reviews at 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews praised Kidman and Dickinson's chemistry as well as the direction, with Halina Reijn keeping the camera in a provocative position during the affair rather than a more exploitative one. The film also landed on many critics' top 10 lists of the year. Kidman won awards at the Venice International Film Festival and the National Board of Review Awards and received a Golden Globes nomination.

10 Being The Ricardos (2021)

Lucille Ball

In 2021, Nicole Kidman took on a tough role because she played someone who is a recognizable figure to most audiences. Kidman played Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos, a film that details the love story between Lucy and Desi Arnaz. The two shared a combustible marriage while also starring as wife and husband on the hit sitcom I Love Lucy, easily the most beloved series of early television history. Javier Bardem played Dezi Arnaz in the Being the Ricardos cast.

Being the Ricardos ended up only getting a limited theatrical release since director Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) made the biopic with Amazon, meaning its main launch was on Prime Video. Despite this, the movie received a lot of critical notice, with Kidman and Bardem both receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress, and even J.K. Simmons was nominated for Best ing Actor. The film also earned five Golden Globe nominations, including one for Kidman.

9 The Northman (2022)

Queen Gudrun

Robert Eggers remains one of the top up-and-coming directors in Hollywood today, thanks to his indie sensibilities. After he released his first movie, The Witch, in 2015, cinephiles were to see what was next. He hasn’t dropped the ball yet, releasing The Lighthouse, The Northman, and the 2024 horror remake Nosferatu. For The Northman, Eggers told his epic historical film about the Viking people. Nicole Kidman signed on as Queen Gudrún, the mother of Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård).

The story follows Amleth, who was a young man when his uncle Fjölnir (Claes Bang) pulled off a coup and beheaded King Aurvandill (Ethan Hawke). Amleth then goes into hiding and plans his revenge to retake his father’s clan. Kidman’s role is very important as she was the one who planned the coup and had her husband murdered, and she has no love for her son, as he was born as a result of rape. In a rare villainous role, Kidman delivered an impressive performance in this universally acclaimed film.

8 The Beguiled (2017)

Martha Farnsworth

In 2017, Nicole Kidman ed forces with director Sofia Coppola for the Southern Gothic thriller The Beguiled. The story takes place during the American Civil War at a boarding school where only the heistress, five students, and one teacher remain. While the youngest student, Amy (Oona Laurence), is out in the woods, she finds an injured Union Army corporal named John (Colin Farrell) and brings him back to the school. Nicole Kidman plays the role of Miss Farnsworth, the heistress.

Farrell was the only major male character in the cast, which also included Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning. While The Beguiled only received a limited release, critics mostly praised the film, with Coppola's restrained direction that allowed the cast to shine. Coppola won the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival, with the cast taking home the Best Ensemble Performance at the International Online Cinema Awards.

7 The Others (2001)

Grace Stewart

In 2001, Nicole Kidman worked with director Alejandro Amenábar on the gothic horror movie The Others. The film takes place in 1945, with Grace Stewart living in a remote country house on the island of Jersey. She lives there with her two young children, Anne and Nicholas, and struggles to keep them healthy as they have light sensitivity issues. After Grace hires three new employees as her housekeeper, gardener, and maid, she soon comes to believe that her home might be haunted by spirits and fights to keep her kids safe.

The Others has a twist that has been spoofed and referenced in many haunted house movies since this was released, but it was done masterfully here. Kidman is perfect as the mother who slowly realizes the truth about her life and home and has to come to grips with what she did and what the future holds. Kidman earned a Saturn Award for her performance with nominations at the BAFTA Awards, Goya Awards, and Satellite Awards.

6 Rabbit Hole (2010)

Becca Corbett

In 2010, Nicole Kidman took on a role in the drama movie Rabbit Hole. Directed by Hohn Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and based on the stage play by David Lindsay-Abaire, the movie is one of Kidman's deepest. She plays Becca, who, along with her husband Howie (Aaron Eckhart), is mourning the death of their four-year-old child. ing them in the cast was an all-star group of actors, including Dianne Wiest, Giancarlo Esposito, and Miles Teller in his film debut.

Rabbit Hole received critical acclaim after its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Kidman was especially credited for her performance in the movie as a grieving mother. The role earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She also earned nominations at the Golden Globes, Independent Spirit, Satellite, and SAG Awards.