On the surface she would seem to have it all, but, despite beauty, fame, movie success and wealth, actress Nicole Kidman admits none of it has protected her from the pain of heartbreak.
In fact, the Oscar-winning actress admits that since separating from ex-husband Tom Cruise she's endured some of the most difficult years of her life and says the break-up left her suffering a "deep loneliness".
"There's something about not sharing with someone else, if you don't have a partner, which leaves you feeling very alone," she says. "You kind of struggle at times to go 'I've just got to keep this up on my own'."
Not even a stellar career - with movie success in films such as Moulin Rouge!, The Others and her Oscar-winning turn in The Hours - could match her yearning for love.
"I always wanted someone to sweep me off my feet and have children with them," she admits. "To me love was more important to my career every time."
This meant she only began to concentrate on her career full time after her divorce from Cruise.
"It was a case of thinking, 'what do I focus on now?"' she says with a resigned smile. "And that's when it started to really come together."
Happily, Kidman, who was born in Hawaii and raised in Australia, does now seem to have the perfect blend of successful career and love.
Last year, she married country music singer Keith Urban and reveals that, although she is already mum to adopted kids Bella (14) and Connor (12), she is keen to have more children.
"I'd love it," she says wistfully. "I don't know if it will happen but I'd feel very, very blessed if that was given to me."
It was those powerful maternal instincts which swayed Kidman towards her latest role in the new movie The Invasion.
The film is an update of Jack Finney's classic 1950s sci-fi novel, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and stars Nicole as Carol Bennett, a psychiatrist whose world changes forever when the remnants of a space shuttle explosion rain down over the US just as her young son goes missing.
"To me, the crux of the story is this woman's journey in relation to her child," says Kidman. "The rush of adrenaline that comes in the desire to save this person that you've given birth to. This person you love more than anything in the world ignites these emotions that otherwise we have no access to. I have two children so I understood the protection and unconditional love that are attached to those small people."
Kidman also ended up consulting a shrink to understand how her screen character ticked. "I play a psychiatrist and my father is a psychologist so I grew up with that," she explains.
"But it was so interesting to sit down with a female psychiatrist who was based in New York. She was very helpful, I think, just in terms of body language and the way you deal with particularly extreme emotions."
Kidman admits she was also drawn to the role for an entirely different - and much more geeky - reason.
"I love sci-fi," she says gleefully. "Alien is one of my favourite films of all time. I love the idea of a woman being the centrepiece of a sci-fi film. It's still unusual in this day and age."
And despite her fragile appearance and sensitive demeanour Kidman reveals she's a secret action girl at heart.
"If someone asks 'do you want to go scuba diving with sharks?' I'm like 'yes please,"' she laughs. "I love sky diving. I just can't explain that feeling, maybe that's why I'm drawn to these roles. I like movies that scare you and I like the feeling of having adrenaline pumping through your blood."
Kidman appears in The Invasion alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig and is glowing in her praise about him.
"He is a very fine actor," she enthuses. "He has an enormous amount of talent. You want to have people around you who inspire you and who are so good at what they do, then it's fun to come to work every day."
It's yet another choice role for the actress, but despite her continued success Kidman says she is still constantly surprised at the way things have turned out - and reveals that she constantly doubts her acting ability.
"So much of my trepidation is based on not wanting to make a fool of yourself, particularly if your nature is a little kind of shy to begin with," she explains. "When I first came to America from Australia I remember driving past the Broadway sign and seeing my name and thinking 'who would think that you could come as far away as Australia and have your name in lights on Broadway?' They say it can't happen but it can."
It didn't just happen, it happened big time.
The star is now the highest-paid leading lady in Hollywood. But despite the enviable earning power and pick of the top movie roles, it's clear Kidman would trade it all for what she has now, peace of mind and a happy home life.
"It has been turbulent at times." she grins, "but I am peaceful right now and just enjoying that."
The Invasion is released on October 12
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