Nicole Kidman says marriage comes before career
Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK—Oscar winner Nicole Kidman is one of Hollywood’s top actresses, but she says for the moment her marriage to country music star Keith Urban takes priority over her career. Kidman, who says she “spontaneously” chooses most of her roles, has had some recent high-profile flops, like 2004’s “The Stepford Wives,” 2005’s “Bewitched” and 2007’s “The Invasion,” since winning an Oscar in 2003 for playing novelist Virginia Woolf in the “The Hours.”
While promoting her latest movie, “Margot at the Wedding” in New York, the Australian actress, 40, said her main concern was her relationship with Urban, whom she married in June 2006 in Sydney. Grammy-winning Urban spent two months in a rehab centre last year, but did not disclose the nature of his treatment. He has acknowledged an addiction to cocaine in the past and credits Kidman with seeing him through his crisis.
As for Kidman she told a group of reporters: “I just recently married so that’s my priority. I love my work but at the same time I don’t want to do it without having somebody else in my life to share that with.” A recent Forbes.com study of actors box office return on their salary ranked Kidman at No. 18 out of 22 actors with a return of $8 for each $1 she was paid. This compares to Matt Damon, ranked No. 1, who earned $29 for each $1.
But Kidman, who split from actor Tom Cruise in 2001 after nearly 10 years of marriage, says she is just interested in doing good work. “I’m interested in working with complex, really, really good directors and sometimes that results in great films and sometimes that results in some films that were reaching high and didn’t get there,” she said.