Nicole Kidman name "Hōkūlani". The inspiration for the name came from a baby elephant born around the same time at the Honolulu Zoo, but the name is also a commonly used Hawaiian name for girls, Hokulani meaning "Heavenly Star". At the time of Kidman's birth, her father was a graduate student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He became a visiting fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health of the United States. Opposed to the war in Vietnam, Kidman's parents participated in anti-war protests while living in Washington, D.C. The family returned to Australia when Kidman was four and her
Nicole Kidman of Thunder", as a young doctor who falls in love with a NASCAR driver. It is Kidman's American debut and was among the highest-grossing films of the year. In 1991, she co-starred with Thandie Newton and former classmate Naomi Watts in the Australian independent film "Flirting". They portrayed high school girls in this coming of age story, which won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film. That same year, her work in the film "Billy Bathgate" earned Kidman her first Golden Globe Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress. "The New York Times", in its film review, called her "a