The actress Nicole Kidman celebrates her birthday today, and it could also be the week of her marriage to country singer Keith Urban. They are rumoured to be marrying in the dark in Sydney this week to avoid fuss, publicity and photographers. Her marriage to Tom Cruise ended after ten years; they had starred together in three films, including Eyes Wide Shut (1999), which turned out to be Stanley Kubrick’s last film. Her career has blossomed since then; she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Moulin Rouge (2001) and won the following year for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours (2002). She has five more films in production and the next, Fur, with Robert Downey Jr, is a biopic of the feisty American photographer Diane Arbus. Nicole Kidman is 39 today. RGT
Professor William Balchin, geographer, 90; Sir Brian Barder, High Commissioner to Australia, 1991-94, 72; Sir Michael Buckley, Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, and Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales, 1997-2002, 67; Wendy Craig, actress, 72; the Earl of Cranbrook, chairman of English Nature, 1990-98, 73; Stafford Dean, opera singer, 69; Olympia Dukakis, actress, 75; Sir Joseph Dwyer, chairman of George Wimpey, 1996-99, 67; Brigadier Jill Field, director of Defence Nursing Services, 1989-92, 72; Stephen Frears, film director, 65; Ronald Hines, actor, 77; Allan Lamb, cricketer, 52; Sir David Mitchell, Minister of State for Transport, 1986-88, 78; Raúl Ramirez, tennis player, 53; Lionel Richie, singer and songwriter, 57; Vikram Seth, writer, 54; Claire Tomalin, writer, 73; Sir Haydn Tudor Evans, High Court judge, 1974-94, 86; the Right Rev John Waine, Bishop of Chelmsford, 1986-96, 76.