The Big Little Lies star first made her Hollywood red carpet debut at the 1991 Oscars alongside Tom Cruise, whom she started opposite in Days of Thunder (pictured left). For the occasion, Kidman wore a little black velvet dress with with waist and wrist embellishment. Over the years, the statuesque actress has become one of Australia’s leading fashion icons, stepping onto the red carpet dressed by some of the world’s best fashion houses, including Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Chanel and Balenciaga (her red 2007 Oscars dress will never be forgotten). Most recently, Kidman took to the 2020 SAG Awards red carpet in January wearing navy Michael Kors (pictured right).
Rose Byrne
While Rose Byrne made her local onscreen debut in Dallas Doll in 1994, she didn’t really start making red carpet appearances until the early 2000s, after landing her leading role in noughties film, The Goddess of 1967. Pictured left at the 2001 Lord of the Rings premiere in Sydney, Byrne’s earliest red carpet looks veered towards the more casual end of the spectrum (it was the 2000s, after all), but these days she is a lot more experimental with her look, as she recently reminded us when she attended her Like A Boss premiere wearing a bright pink ‘blazer’ dress in January 2020 (pictured right).
Cate Blanchett
An icon of the screen and stage, Cate Blanchett is also widely regarded as one of the nation’s most fashion-forward stars. Even in some of her earliest red carpet turnouts—like her appearance at the 1998 L.A. premiere of Elizabeth where she opted for palazzo pants over a gown (pictured left alongside her husband Andrew Upton)—Blanchett showed a penchant for veering away from convention. These days, she is well-known for her elegant take on avant-garde dressing, frequently seen wearing Armani Privé, Dior, Giles Deacon, Mary Katrantzou and Dries van Noten—the latter of which she wore to the Berlinale Film Festival Premiere in late February 2020 (pictured right).
Isla Fisher
Like Byrne, Home and Away alum Isla Fisher also had a casual approach to red carpet dressing when she first hit the circuit in the early noughties, as demonstrated by her jeans-and-top look at the London premiere of the film Best in 2000 (pictured left). Nowadays, it’s a more formal affair, with the comedic actress typically wearing (and looking incredible in) vivid jewel tones, which she did most recently at the Golden Globe Awards in January 2020 (pictured right).
Toni Collette
Widely considered one of Australia’s greatest Hollywood exports, Toni Collette’s red carpet style hasn’t actually changed all that much since her early days of wearing vintage pieces from secondhand stores (as pictured left in 1995 at the Muriel’s Wedding premiere in New York). These days, of course, her quirky style is less ‘thrift store’, and more ‘Erdem’ (pictured right at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards).
Naomi Watts
Former Home and Away actress Naomi Watts has had quite the red carpet evolution. From short dresses and feathery shrugs (pictured left at the Tank Girl premiere in 1995), to glimmering in Armani Privé at the 2020 Golden Globes (right), the ascent is nothing short of spectacular.
Margot Robbie
Just like Margot Robbie’s before-and-after beauty transformation, the actress has had quite the style evolution since making the leap across the pond. Her time of sporting a strapless ‘mullet’ dress to the 2009 Logie Awards (pictured left) has long gone. These days, Robbie is well-regarded as one of Australia’s most stylish women and boasts a Chanel ambassadorship under her belt (as exemplified by the vintage Chanel dress she wore on the 2020 Oscars’ red carpet in February, pictured right).
Nathalie Kelley
Sydney-raised actress Nathalie Kelly of Dynasty reboot fame may have favoured florals on the red carpet in the mid noughties (as pictured left in 2006), but her take on botanical prints in more recent times—and her red carpet style, in general—has since been significantly elevated (as pictured left, in 2019).
Samara Weaving
Most recently starring in Netflix’s Hollywood, Samara Weaving first cut her teeth in acting in the local TV shows Home and Away and Out of The Blue in the late 2010s. Since then, the actress has moved from body-con dresses and patent pumps (pictured left in 2010), to full-scale glamour, as shown by the coral-hued Schiaparelli gown she wore to the 2018 Oscars (pictured right).
Phoebe Tonkin
Bloom star Phoebe Tonkin has arguably had one of the best pre- and post-Hollywood style transformations to date. The Vampire Diaries actress has come a long way from the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards (pictured left in 2008, with her H20: Just Add Water co-stars), with Tonkin—who is now a face for Chanel—typically wearing dresses by the French maison for red carpet appearances (as pictured right, in December 2019).
Like her fellow Bloom co-star, Bella Heathcote has also raised the stakes in her red carpet game. Commencing acting in the beginning of the 2010s, the former Neighbours star’s early red carpet style has changed significantly since she first attended the Beneath Hill premiere (pictured left in 2010), with Heathcote’s most recent red carpet look involving Gucci at the NGV Fashion Gala at the end of 2019 (pictured right).
Teresa Palmer
Currently starring in the hit TV series, A Discovery of Witches, actress and entrepreneur Teresa Palmer has—like many of her fellow contemporaries who commenced their careers in the 2000s—has considerably changed her style over the years. From casual strapless dresses (pictured left in 2006) to statement-making gowns (pictured right in 2019), it’s quite a noteworthy evolution, to say the least.
