Nicole Kidman is known for her charity work, but she’s been forced to bail on one worthy cause due to illness. Kidman was set to leave for Kenya in support of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (Unifem), touring schools and hospitals to raise awareness of women’s rights.

But the IMDB reports the actress has come down with the flu—not the swine kind—and had to cancel. Her rep stated, “Nicole is deeply sorry that, because she is ill with the seasonal flu, she cannot come to Kenya. The Say No – UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign is a top priority and together with Unifem she will work to advance this critical initiative.”

Get well soon, Nicole! Don’t give that flu to the baby!

Actress Nicole Kidman took on a new role today, as she addressed the U.S. Congress as an advocate for women around the world who are victims of violence. She appeared in support of The International Violence Against Women Act, a five-year program to combat violence against women worldwide. The bill will be introduced in the next several weeks, and Congress will be voting on it during the current session.

As reported by WJLA news, Kidman’s message was blunt and to the point. “This Pakistani woman was scarred for life by her husband…He threw acid on her. In Afghanistan, this girl was attacked for going to school. And in the Congo, as many as 90 percent of the women in some villages have been raped. These champions need and deserve our support. Not with a box of band aids but with a comprehensive, well-funded approach that acknowledges that women’s rights are human rights.”

Let’s hope the pols listened to Kidman’s serious message and didn’t just look at her pretty face.

Nearly three years of being married to the easygoing Keith Urban seems to have made Nicole Kidman realize what a control freak her ex Tom Cruise was.

Nicole told Easy Living (via Marie Claire), “I felt I became a star only by association. We would go to the Oscars and I would think, ‘I’m here to support him.’ I felt it was my job to put on a beautiful dress and be seen and not heard.”

Meow! If that wasn’t enough of a diss on Cruise, she called Keith Urban her “greater love.” It looks like getting dumped by the power-mad actor was the best thing that ever happened to Nicole.

Country superstar Keith Urban kept a protective arm around wife Nicole Kidman and baby daughter Sunday Rose as the family arrived at LAX. The Urbans were returning from an Easter vacation in Australia with their extended families.

At 41, country superstar Keith Urban has already lived a lifetime of hard knocks, including career struggles, broken romances and a long battle with drugs and alcohol.

But things have turned around for the country heartthrob in the last few years. He spent three months in Betty Ford in late 2006 and has been sober ever since. He married actress Nicole Kidman nearly three years ago, and last summer the couple welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Sunday Rose.

Keith taped an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” set to air tomorrow, and he explained how Sunday’s birth has changed his life. “Particularly when you don’t have someone in your life … in my experience, Sunday was the loneliest day. It went from being sort of the most dreaded day of the week for us to being the most joyous day, because we just had a family.”

Awww! You know little Sunday is the apple of her daddy’s eye. The Aussie couple are raising Sunday Rose in their adopted hometown of Nashville, and Keith quipped, “I think she may say, ‘Good day, y’all.’ A nice mix.”

Pregnancy rumors have been swirling around Aussie power couple Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman since the pair wed in 2006. Recently they’ve started again because Nicole sported a teeny tiny tummy under her gown at last month’s Oscars.

Now the country crooner is clearing the air. People reports that during an interview with CMT Insider, Keith joked, “I’m not pregnant, no, definitely not. Clear that one up right now. I haven’t had any check-ups recently but … it’s just going out on a limb here.”

Which is certainly a good thing, since his new album, “Defying Gravity,” comes out March 31. But notice he didn’t say whether the wife was pregnant, so the bump watch goes on.

Over the last week, wildfires have devastated Australia, destroying at least 1000 homes and killing nearly 200 people. The BBC reports Aussie power couple Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman have joined the efforts to aid brushfire victims, donating $500,000 and appearing on the telethon Australia Unites. Urban stated:

“Our hearts go out tonight to all the families that are dealing with the loss of loved ones and having to rebuild their lives again.”

Kidman, who gave birth to the couple’s baby daughter Sunday Rose last summer, added:

“As Australians, I think the biggest thing is that no matter where you are in the world, we support each other and we rally. That’s why we wanted to show our support and we would like to donate $500,000 on behalf of our family to the families that need it now.”

The fires are still raging despite cooler, wetter weather today. 

Critics savaged Nicole Kidman’s performance in “Australia”—and she’s not too crazy about it either. Kidman told the Sydney Morning Herald that she “squirmed” in her seat at the Sydney premiere, so uncomfortable watching herself in the film that she leaned on husband Keith Urban for support. She said: 

“I can’t look at this movie and be proud of what I’ve done. I sat there, and I looked at Keith and went, ‘Am I any good in this movie?’ But I thought Brandon Walters and Hugh Jackman were wonderful. It’s just impossible for me to connect to it emotionally at all.”

Kidman was so nervous after seeing the film that she and Urban hurried back to the States. She explained to Australian radio station 2dayFM:

“We ran because I didn’t want to read anything. I didn’t want to know. I saw my sister and my family and we saw Keith’s family and then we were straight on a plane.”

Well, that’s one way to duck out on bad reviews.

After the hectic promotional tour for her film “Australia,” Nicole Kidman was happy to spend a quiet holiday in Nashville with husband Keith Urban and baby Sunday Rose. People reports that the couple divided their time between their home in town and their ranch in Leiper’s Fork. 

Sunday rose stayed home while the couple enjoyed a Christmas Eve lunch at Bread & Company, one of their favorite hangs in Nashville. An observer told People, “They are so low-key. They looked like anyone else out doing last minute Christmas shopping. They just look so happy and comfortable with each other.”

These two better enjoy the lull while they can—Keith’s new album comes out in March and the rat race starts again.

Her former neighbors wish Nicole Kidman had taken her yacht with her when she moved away. The UK Independent reports that the residents of posh Sydney waterfront community Pier 6/7 in Walsh Bay are up in arms because Kidman’s $4.5 million yacht Hukulani is still moored in the adjacent marina nearly a year after she had vacated her home there. A spokesperson for the actress says the boat will be moved next week.

Maybe Kidman has retired to the Nashville home she shares with hubby Keith Urban to get away from all those nasty reviews about her film “Australia.”

Well, maybe not yet, but the actress did seem to be hinting in that direction at the Sydney press conference for her new film “Australia.” Kidman is a new mom to baby Sunday Rose with husband Keith Urban and her mind seemed to be more on domestic bliss than making more movies.

“In terms of my future as an actor and stuff, I don’t know. I am in a place in my life where…I’ve had some great opportunities, and I may just choose to have some more children…I’ve no idea what is in my future, but I am very at peace with where I want to be. There are many things I want to do besides act.”

Sounds like Nicole has found the happy home life with Urban she never had with Tom what’s-his-name.

She’s starring with High Jackman in the new film “Australia” but Nicole Kidman says the real “leading man” in her life is husband Keith Urban. At Monday night’s Glamour Women of the Year Awards Monday night, she addressed the crowd:

“Three and a half years ago a man came along and said ‘I’m going to take you to Tennessee.’ And he took me down there and he said. ‘I think you deserved to be loved. Let me love you, let me give you a home, and let’s make a baby.’ So thank you, Keith Lionel.”

What a romantic! Now we know why he sings those love songs so well.

Nicole Kidman is set to star in and produce the film “The Danish Girl” in which she will play the world’s first post-op transsexual. if that isn’t wild enough for you, s/he’s married to Charlize Theron. The two Oscar winners will play Danish artists Einar and Greta Wegener who hit the jackpot when hubby Einar starts posing as a female in Greta’s paintings. Complications ensue when Einar decides he likes being a chick so much, he gets an operation to make it permanent. Yeah, I guess most wives would get kinda upset over something like that.

The Weinstein Company hopes so. Today they released this first photo from the film “Nine.” If you can’t recognize them all because of the PhotoShopping, that’s Dame Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard. Sophia Loren, Fergie, Nicole Kidman and Kate Hudson. In front with his back to the camera is Daniel Day-Lewis who stars as a filmmaker trying to make a movie while juggling the various women in his life. This film doesn’t come out until December 2009 so we have no idea why they’re hyping it so soon.

Connor Cruise, the adopted son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, has two baby sisters but wants a little brother—and Nicole thinks Tom’s current wife Katie Holmes should step up to the plate. In the latest issue of Glamour magazine, Nicole said:

“[Connor] would like one of us to have a boy. He wants that boy. Katie?”

Nice thought, Nic, but do we really want to see these two breed again?

At last night’s number #1 party in Nashville for his country hit, “You Look Good in My Shirt,” Keith Urban made wife Nicole Kidman blush by quipping, “you do look good in my shirt. And out of it but that’s a different story.” Nicole’s first film since the birth of their daughter Sunday Rose, the epic “Australia.” comes out later this month.

Nicole Kidman talked to Parade magazine about new baby Sunday Rose and her marriage to country star Keith Urban. She days their biggest challenge has been his alcohol abuse that led to a trip to Betty Ford just a few months after their 2006 wedding.

“We were thrown into his alcohol problem three months into the marriage and that was big. We became the closest we could become because we had to bare our souls. We did ten years of marriage in three months. You go to hell and back with this—when the addiction takes control of the life, it’s terrifying. But there is hope and we work on it every day, and we are in a place of actual peace right now, which is a beautiful place. I love him so dearly and he has done such an amazing amount of work and he is an amazing husband, and I am just very, very grateful.”

Who wouldn’t be grateful to escape the controlling clutches of Tom Cruise?

NIcole Kidman gave birth this morning to a healthy baby girl. Good times! Nic and Keith named their daughter Sunday Rose, which is adorable. Keith had this to say on his website: “Earlier this morning, Nic gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban. We want to thank everybody that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers. We feel blessed and grateful that we can share this joy with all of you today.” This is the first child for Nicole and Keith. Nicole has two adopted kids with ex-husband Tom Cruise, Isabella, 15, and Connor, 13. A big congratulations to the happy couple. I’m sure Nic’s a beaming mummy right now.

Nicole Kidman was spotted yesterday at the Smashbox Studios for a photo shoot. Word is Nicole is going to be baring it all for an upcoming magazine cover, a la Demi Moore. Nic reportedly wanted to wait until she looked very pregnant to do the photo shoot. Nicole’s due in July, but if you’ve seen pics of her lately, she looks like she’s barely leaving her first trimester. She does look super happy, though, and is glowing like most pregnant women do. Check Nic out holding her baby bump in these photos. And even though it’s been the trend lately, I really can’t see Nicole selling her baby photos, but I could be wrong. I guess we’ll have to wait until July to see what happens.

Well I guess The Daily Mail was right after all as reps for both Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman have confirmed to USmagazine.com that they are indeed expecting their first child together. Congratulations Nicole and Keith! The press have gone back and forth the last couple of weeks regarding her possible pregnancy, so it’s nice to have confirmation. They’re going to have an absolutely beautiful child. What if they have a boy and when the kid’s around his late teens he starts dating Suri Cruise! Wouldn’t that be interesting? Wait, wouldn’t they be related? Anyway, I digress. This will be the first child for Keith and the third for Nicole (she has 2 kids with ex, Tom Cruise). I’ve posted two pregnancy announcements today from Hollywood and I’m sure more will follow soon. Celebs have definitely gone baby crazy.