Australian star Nicole Kidman's "annus horibilis" in which her 10-year marriage to Tom Cruise collapsed got a major fillip Thursday when she was nominated for two Golden Globe awards.
The actress got a double early Christmas present when she picked up two best actress nominations for her roles in the romantic Paris-set musical "Moulin Rouge" and in her new creepy horror film, "The Others."
"I woke Nicole up in the middle of the night in Australia and she was absolutely thrilled," said her publicist Catherine Olim. "It ends off her year in a great way.
"She was not expecting the nominations and is very excited for (director) Baz (Luhrmann) and (co-star) Ewan (McGregor) too," she added of Kidman's collaborators on the film, who each won a Golden Globe nomination.
"Moulin Rouge," in which Kidman plays courtesan Satine in the famous Paris nightclub in 1899, was one of two pictures leading the Golden Globe nominations with six nods that are seen as a possible pre-cursor to the Oscar nominations.
It is in the running for best musical or comedy picture of 2002, best actress in a comedy or musical, best actor in the same category for McGregor, best director for Luhrmann, best original score and best original song.
The other picture to pick up six nods was "A Beautiful Mind," starring fellow Aussie star and Oscar winner Russell Crowe in a film based on the life of schizophrenic mathematics genius John Forbes Nash Jr.
"Clearly, any pictures that stand out in the Golden Globes win extra visibility ahead of the Oscars," said Tim Gray of industry publication Daily Variety earlier.
Kidman also won a nomination as best actress for ghost story "The Others" in Spain's Goya film awards on Wednesday.
The boost given to Kidman's Oscar chances at the start of Hollywood's heady awards season is likely to help take the edge off her painful year.
Cruise stunned Kidman and the world when he announced he was leaving her in February amid rumors he was already dating his "Vanilla Sky" co-star Penelope Cruz.
Kidman then had a miscarriage and lost Cruise's baby that she was carrying amid bitter public recriminations over the split-up.
The pair were officially divorced in August and in November they agreed on a secret and amicable divorce settlement in which they share custody of their adopted children, Isabella, 8, and Connor, 6.
Under the deal dividing their joint fortune estimated at 350 million dollars, Cruise got to keep his mini-fleet of aircraft while Kidman got two of the couple's mansions in the Los Angeles area of Malibu and in Sydney.
Cruise is now dating Spanish-born Cruz, who was not nominated for a Golden Globe for "Vanilla Sky", although Cameron Diaz won a nod as best supporting actress in the film -- AFP
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