Kidman, who rebounded from a headline-making separation (and subsequent) divorce from Tom Cruise to headline the Oscar contender Moulin Rouge and the gothic horror hit The Others, topped the list of 20 stand-out actors, singers and all-around entertainer types, as presented on the network's new original series Rank.
The Rank rankings were unveiled on Wednesday night's episode. It marked the 12th time, dating back to 1990, that E! has tapped an Entertainer of the Year. Last year's pick was, coincidentally, Cruise. Previous winners have also included Julia Roberts, Will Smith, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
Kidman accepted the award from host Brooke Burke.
"[To have] two films that I feel passionate about and love, and to have the world see them and embrace them the way they have been embraced has been glorious," Kidman told Burke. "It's been one of those things where you go, 'I have to pinch myself because this will never happen again.' "
Of course, being found worthy of award-show hardware is something that may well happen again to Kidman and her Moulin Rouge amis. Director Baz Luhrmann's musical-on-acid, which featured Kidman and costar Ewan McGregor making showtunes out of contemporary pop (i.e., Elton John's "Your Song"), got a can-can leg up on the competition this month, when it was named the year's best film by the National Board of Review.
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The Others, executive produced by Kidman's ex, is also getting an Oscar push, with Miramax recently slipping the late-summer hit ($96.5 million at the U.S. box office) back into theaters in Los Angeles (aka, Where Oscar Voters Live--and Vote).
While seeing two movies you made back-to-back connect with critics and audiences back-to-back is better than, say, not, it's also a tad tiring, Kidman told E!
"I don't think that I will ever choose to be that busy again because at the end of doing those [two films] I was exhausted, just exhausted, and satiated," Kidman said.
Kidman's one-two punch (and/or one-two kick, depending on your fondness for Moulin Rouge puns) put her atop a formidable list of 2001 A-listers, which included fellow Oscar hopeful Renée Zellweger (the Bridget Jones's Diary star placed 13th) and reigning Oscar champ Roberts (number 4).
E!'s Top Five was rounded out by: Jennifer Lopez (number 2), who simultaneously topped the pop-album charts with J.Lo and the box-office charts with Angel Eyes (and, oh, yeah, she got married, too); 'N Sync (number 3), which, with the success of Celebrity, proved that boybands may just be allowed to mature into manbands; and James Gandolfini (number 5), who won an Emmy for The Sopranos and big-screen acclaim in The Mexican with Roberts and The Last Castle with Robert Redford.
Though E!'s list featured 20 names in total, no list ever seems long enough. Quibblers may quibble that Kidman made the cut, but Cruise, possibly an Oscar contender himself for Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky, didn't; that Paul McCartney, who led the September 11 benefit The Concert for New York City made the cut (he's number 17), but George Clooney, who spearheaded the starry America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon, didn't.
Oh, well, at least Michael Jackson got an honorable mention--and that's all that really matters, right? (Per E! Online voters, who got a say in several adjunct categories, Jacko was the Celebrity with the Biggest Comeback.)
Rank: Top 20 Entertainers of 2001 will reair Friday at 10 p.m., Saturday at noon, Sunday at 9 p.m., Monday at 7 p.m., December 22 at 6 p.m. and December 31 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
For those of you who can't wait, here's a rundown of the Top 10. For the complete list, click here:
1. Nicole Kidman
2. Jennifer Lopez
3. 'N Sync
4. Julia Roberts
5. James Gandolfini
6. Destiny's Child
7. Eddie Murphy
8. Britney Spears
9. Ray Romano
10. Kelly Ripa