Nicole
Kidman is an Academy Award and three time Golden Globe-winning Australian-American
actress as well as a singer. In 2006 she was the highest paid actress in Hollywood.
That year she also received Australia's highest civilian honor, the Companion
of the Order of Australia for her work in the performing arts and also for her
many contributions to humanitarian causes. Nicole Kidman insists that her involvement
in causes for a better world is more important to her than her film career and
she has walked her talk throughout her career. She has been a Goodwill Ambassador
for UNICEF since 1994 helping raise money and advocate for their work to care
for disadvantaged children around the world. She is also an Ambassador of the
Sydney Children’s Hospital, and has impacted the lives of thousands of children
suffering from serious illnesses. Because her mother is a breast cancer survivor,
Nicole Kidman has also been involved in campaigns to fight breast cancer, such
as serving as the first Chair of The Women’s Health Fund at UCLA, and working
with Breast Cancer Care. She also serves as Honorary Patron of the UK-based organization,
FARA, which provides care for orphans in Romania. In 2006 the United Nations invited
Nicole to take on another role as Goodwill Ambassador of UNIFEM, the United Nations
Development Fund for Women, which helps promote women's rights and gender equality.
She is focusing on preventing violence against women. In 2004, The United Nations
honored Nicole Kidman as a "Citizen of the World" because of her steadfast
involvement in helping to make the world a better place.