Nicole Kidman is an Australian actress and film producer. Kidman’s breakthrough film role was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm. After appearing in several films in the early 1990s, she came to worldwide recognition for her performances in the auto-racing film Days of Thunder (1990), the romance Far and Away (1992) and the superhero film Batman Forever (1995). Other acclaimed performances include her work in the erotic Kubrick thriller Eyes Wide Shut(1999), the musical Moulin Rouge! (2001), the horror-thriller The Others (2001) and The Hours (2002). Kidman was married to Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001. She was born to Australian parents in Hawai’i on June 20, 1967.
Note: In my search for Nicole Kidman’s most iconic outfit, I found this lime-green or chartreuse dress she wore to the 69th Academy Awards in 1997.
Kyrie Irving is an American professional basketball point guard for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. He was born in Melbourne, Australia but grew up in New Jersey. He played collegiately at Duke University and was selected first in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Cavaliers. In the NBA, Irving has achieved a number of accolades including being the 2011-12 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 2014 NBA All-Star Game MVP. In the ongoing 2014-15 NBA season, Irving owns the top two highest-scoring games. On January 28, he scored 55 points against Portland, including 11 three-pointers. On March 12, he scored a career-high 57 points against San Antonio. Irving was born on March 23, 1992.
Evonne Goolagong is a former tennis player who won seven Grand Slam singles titles and seven Grand Slam doubles titles during her career in the 1970s and early 1980s. As a child of an Aboriginal Australian family, she faced widespread discrimination in rural Australia during her youth. She’s one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #3 of 5 for French Open week.
Margaret Court is an Australian former tennis player who won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, including 11 Australian Open titles, during her career in the 1960s and 1970s. She’s one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time. Court is also a Pentecostal minister famous for abrasive, bigoted statements against gay marriage and homosexuality, which she recently called an “abomination” in an interview.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #1 of 5 for French Open week.
Trugernanner, often referred to as Truganini, is widely considered the last “full blood” Palawa (Aboriginal Tasmanian). Between 1803 and 1876, the black aborigines of the Australian island of Tasmania were completely destroyed by invading European settlers. The Black War, a period of conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians, is one of the earliest recorded modern genocides. All indigenous Tasmanian languages have been lost. Truganini died on this day in 1876.
The eponymous character of the Tank Girl comic and the 1995 film. Tank Girl drives a tank, which is also her home, and undertakes a series of missions for a nebulous organization. Her boyfriend, Booga, is a mutant kangaroo. The British comic’s style was heavily influenced by punk visual art. The strip was initially set in a stylized post-apocalyptic Australia.
An Australian former tennis player who holds the record for career titles, and was the top-ranked player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970. Laver is the only tennis player to have twice won the Grand Slam, first as an amateur in 1962 and second as a professional in 1969. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #1 of 5 for Australian Open week.
