Kidman has 'boring' 39th birthday ahead of expected wedding

Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman said she enjoyed a “boring” 39th birthday with family in Australia today ahead of her widely-anticipated weekend wedding to country music star Keith Urban.

Kidman emerged from the luxurious Sydney harbourside mansion she once shared with former husband Tom Cruise to greet about 20 reporters and photographers waiting outside, who brought flowers and sang “Happy Birthday” to the actress over the intercom.

“Thank you for the flowers and the singing,” Kidman said, before posing for photographs. “It’s nice to be home.”

Asked how she planned to spend her birthday, Kidman replied: “Not much, dinner at home with mum – boring.”

Wearing a black coat against the southern hemisphere winter chill, Kidman said she was “embarrassed” by all the attention.

Later, the actress sent bottles of water and a case of beer out to the medi pack with an attached note saying: “Enjoy! Nicole and Keith,” the Australian Associated Press reported.

Kidman and Urban, 38, arrived in Australia yesterday amid widespread rumours they were set to wed.

The pair ended the speculation with a jointly released media statement.

“We are very happy to be back in Australia,” the statement said. “We have come home to celebrate our wedding with our family and friends.”

Details of the wedding have been kept secret, but local media have widely tipped Sunday as the date.

It is Urban’s first marriage, but the second for Kidman, who ended her 10-year marriage to Cruise in 2001.

The two children Kidman adopted with Cruise – Isabella, 13, and Connor, 11 - are expected to arrive in Sydney later this week to participate in the wedding, AAP reported today.

Kidman and Urban are reportedly staying in separate residences in the lead-up to the wedding, which is expected to be a black-tie event involving a tight circle of friends and family.

Guests have been told to keep their schedules free from Friday to Monday, as they will be given only 24 hours notice as to the time and location, local media said.

Kidman – who was born in Hawaii, but raised in Australia – won an Oscar for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in the 2002 film, The Hours.

Urban, who was born in New Zealand, but also grew up in Australia, won a Grammy in 2005 for best male country vocal performance.