The Blue Room, a series of vignettes about male-female relationships, may be insightful theater. But a big reason the play sold out in London and Manhattan last winter was that in one hazily lit scene, Broadway newcomer
Nicole Kidman, 31, appeared in the perfection-pale buff. Men who had never left home when
Baywatch reruns were on TV suddenly became drama lovers. After all, even fully clothed, this is a woman who, in her
Practical Magic costar Aidan Quinn's words, is "a real head-turner. She walks into a room with a sense of humor and a bounce in her step. And a nice smirk on her lips." Nonetheless, Kidman "doesn't really do well with compliments," says Michael Keaton, who starred with her in 1993's
My Life. "She's good at changing the subject." Indeed, she waves off the qualities that cause standing ovations. "I always hated being tall," says the 5'10" star. "I wish I were two inches shorter and had that Sophia Loren look." Growing up in Australia, Kidman, the daughter of Anthony, a biochemist and psychologist, and Janelle, a nurse, tried to iron the curls out of her hair. And as for that amazing complexion, "I used to smother myself in coconut oil and sit in the sun. I realized after a few burns and blisters that it might not be such a good idea." It took hubby
Tom Cruise to make her more comfortable in her own skin. "The fact that I have red hair, that I'm tall, that I'm fair, are the things he says he loves about me. It's funny—all the things you hate most about yourself growing up are the things that are most attractive to the person you love," To keep on cruising, Kidman avoids red meat, runs five miles at least four days a week and plays tennis with Tom. "He always wins," she says. "I'm the sort who says, 'You go ahead and win. It doesn't mean that much to me.' " But then, Kidman aims to please. Her greatest indulgence, she says, is giving—not getting—a massage: "I learned how to do it when my mother was ill with breast cancer when I was a child. Now I love to do it for the kids [Isabella, 6, and Connor, 4]. Sometimes they'll ask for a foot massage when Tom and I are watching TV." Despite the domesticity, there's still one skin problem—too much of it.
Eyes Wide Shut, the July erotic thriller she stars in with Cruise, also features a partially nude Kidman. "For my next movie," she says with a laugh, "I'm going to do some 18th-century period piece, so I can be dressed from head to toe."
