One of the highest paid Hollywood actresses today, Nicole began her career in showbiz as a dancer, beginning with ballet training at the age of three. By 10, she had become a student of drama at Sydney's Australian Theatre for Young People. Her first onscreen appearance was in a music video for Pat Boone's Bop girl (1983).

In the same year, she appeared in the made-for-television movie Bush Christmas, and the critically acclaimed BMX Bandits. A number of television and movie roles were to follow, including Vietnam (1987) and Bangkok Hilton (1989).

The 1989 psychological thriller, Dead Calm, proved something of a breakthrough for Nicole, establishing her as a rising talent. The following year she starred in her first American feature film, Days Of Thunder (1990) opposite Tom Cruise, who she met for the first time on the sets of the film. The couple married later in the same year.

Text: Aishwarya Subramanian | Photograph: Getty Images

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