Kidman's rollercoaster year

Kidman: "absolutely thrilled" at Golden Globe nominations

Nicole Kidman's two Golden Globe nominations have ended a dramatic year for the actress on a high note.

The year began with rumours that her marriage to Tom Cruise was in trouble - rumours confirmed on 5 February when Cruise announced he was leaving what had appeared to be one of Hollywood's most solid marriages.

I've had successes and huge failures - it's part of a journey

Nicole Kidman

The couple's separation fuelled much speculation, but neither revealed what had gone wrong.

Cruise later appeared in public with his new girlfriend, Penelope Cruz.

Musical

But Kidman had a miscarriage, losing Cruise's baby - and later claimed she had begged Cruise not to give up on their marriage.

Kidman co-starred with McGregor in Moulin Rouge

Fortunately, perhaps, Kidman's working life was busy - discussing a project to appear on the London stage (which did not materialize) and working on the Baz Luhrmann musical Moulin Rouge.

Kidman's bad luck continued.

She was being stalked by a Los Angeles man and eventually had to seek a restraining order.

She told a Santa Monica court that the actions of Matthew Hooker made her and her two children "fearful" for their "safety and security".

But better times were coming.

Moulin Rouge opened the Cannes film festival in May - and went on to be a global box office hit.

Divorce settlement

The musical - which co-starred Ewan MacGregor - married contemporary pop tunes with period settings from 19th Century Paris.

Kidman eventually reached an amicable settlement with Cruise

Kidman was also working on a horror film, The Others, co-produced by Cruise - while the press speculated about the terms of Kidman's divorce settlement.

Any settlement threatened to be expensive for Cruise, who has a fortune estimated at $250m.

Their divorce was signed at the beginning of August, just days before the couple avoided each other at the LA premiere of The Others.

But it may have been in August when Kidman's fortunes started to improve.

Media frenzy

She recorded the Nancy Sinatra classic Somethin' Stupid with Robbie Williams, as part of his tribute project to Frank Sinatra and the classic crooners.

And she caused a media frenzy when she appeared in Venice to promote The Others at the Venice Film Festival.

The menacing thriller, directed by Spaniard Alejandro Amenabar, went on to become another critical success - and another hit.

In an October interview with the BBC's Rosie Millard, Kidman was philosophical about her life's ups and downs: "I've had successes and huge failures, which I'm glad I've had, it's part of a journey.

"To appreciate the successes you have to have had the failures and you have to accept that it is a journey and it's not just tomorrow or the next day or next year."

Deal

In November she and Cruise agreed on a secret and amicable divorce settlement in which they will share custody of their adopted children, Isabella and Connor.

The Others entered the UK charts at number one

Under the deal dividing their joint fortune Kidman also got two of the couple's mansions in the Los Angeles area of Malibu, and in Sydney.

November saw The Others released in the UK, where it leapt straight to the number one spot at the UK box office in its first weekend.

And in December her duet with Robbie Williams was released - and also entered the charts at number one.

Then Thursday's Golden Globe nominations - chosen by Hollywood's Foreign Press Assocation - saw Kidman pick up two best actress nominations.

She recived the nod for best dramatic actress for The Others, and for the best musical or comedy actress for Moulin Rouge.

Kidman's publicist Catherine Olim described the actress as "absolutely thrilled" and added: "It rounds off her year in a great way - she was not expecting the nominations."