Nicole Kidman has built one of the most impressive book-to-screen resumés in Hollywood. 

Over the past three decades she has played literary heroines, villains, socialites, therapists, grieving mothers and at least one woman who will absolutely manipulate a teenager into committing murder if it helps her career. 

Kidman keeps returning to the page for inspiration, and many of her most memorable performances began as novels. Here’s a look at some of her most notable adaptations, from newest to oldest.

“Scarpetta,” which premieres March 11 on Prime Video, is based on Patricia Cornwell’s long-running forensic crime series that began with the 1990 novel “Postmortem.” Kidman plays medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Jamie Lee Curtis co-stars as her sister Dorothy, and Ariana DeBose also appears in the series, which follows Scarpetta as she solves murder cases using forensic science.

Kidman also starred in the Netflix limited series “The Perfect Couple” (2024), adapted from Elin Hilderbrand’s 2018 mystery. She plays wealthy Nantucket novelist Greer Garrison Winbury, opposite Liev Schreiber. The story follows a lavish wedding that spirals into a murder investigation when a body is discovered hours before the ceremony.

That same year, Kidman led “Expats,” the Prime Video series based on Janice Y.K. Lee’s 2016 novel “The Expatriates.” Kidman stars alongside Brian Tee, Sarayu Blue and Ji-young Yoo in the Hong Kong-set drama about privilege, grief and complicated friendships among an expatriate community.

In 2021, Kidman played wellness guru Masha Dmitrichenko in Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers,” adapted from Liane Moriarty’s 2018 novel. Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon and Luke Evans co-starred as guests at an unconventional retreat. The series returned with a second season on May 21, 2025—with a new cast of stars, including Christine Baranski and Henry Golding, playing the guests. 

In HBO’s “The Undoing” (2020), based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s 2014 novel “You Should Have Known,” Kidman stars as NYC therapist Grace Fraser, whose seemingly perfect life unravels when a murder puts her husband of 20 years, played by Hugh Grant, at the center of a scandal.

One of Kidman’s most acclaimed television roles came with 2017’s “Big Little Lies” on HBO, adapted from Liane Moriarty’s 2014 bestseller. Kidman stars alongside Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Zoë Kravitz and Shailene Woodley as Celeste Wright, a woman in an abusive marriage with Alexander Skarsgård’s Perry while navigating the high-pressure world of parents and private schools.

In 2015, Kidman also appeared in the family dramedy “The Family Fang,” based on Kevin Wilson’s 2011 novel. Directed by and co-starring Jason Bateman, the film follows two siblings returning home to deal with their performance-artist parents.

In Lee Daniels’ crime drama “The Paperboy” (2012), adapted from Pete Dexter’s 1995 novel, Kidman plays Charlotte Bless, a woman involved with a death-row inmate. Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, John Cusack and David Oyelowo co-star in the story of a journalist investigating a controversial conviction in a small Florida town.

The actress also appeared in the fantasy adventure “The Golden Compass” (2007), based on Philip Pullman’s 1995 novel “Northern Lights,” the first book in the “His Dark Materials” trilogy. Kidman plays the icy and manipulative Marisa Coulter, opposite Dakota Blue Richards and Daniel Craig.

Her Civil War epic “Cold Mountain” (2003) was adapted from Charles Frazier’s 1997 novel. Kidman stars alongside Jude Law and Renée Zellweger as Ada Monroe, a Southern woman struggling to survive while waiting for her soldier lover to return home from the war.

Kidman earned an Academy Award for her role in “The Hours” (2002), adapted from Michael Cunningham’s 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The film weaves together three interconnected stories, including Kidman’s portrayal of author Virginia Woolf. Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore co-star in the acclaimed drama.

Kidman tackled Henry James with “The Portrait of a Lady” (1996), directed by Jane Campion and adapted from the author’s 1881 novel. She plays Isabel Archer, a young American woman navigating European society while confronting the limits of independence and freedom.

And before many of those prestige adaptations, Kidman delivered one of her campiest performances in “To Die For” (1995), based on Joyce Maynard’s 1992 novel inspired by the Pamela Smart murder case. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the dark satire stars Kidman as Suzanne Stone, an ambitious weather reporter who manipulates a teenage boy (Joaquin Phoenix) into murdering her husband (Matt Dillon).

Looking at the list, one thing becomes clear: Kidman isn’t just drawn to literary adaptations. She seems to relish them. Whether she’s playing a forensic genius, a wealthy socialite, a manipulative TV reporter or Virginia Woolf herself, the actress has repeatedly shown that some of the most compelling roles still begin on the page.

About the writer

S. Lynn Bonanno’s favorite Nicole Kidman book-to-screen adaptation is “To Die For,” followed by “The Undoing” and “Big Little Lies.” She is far less enthusiastic about “Nine Perfect Strangers” and “The Perfect Couple,” despite loving the novels by Liane Moriarty and Elin Hilderbrand.