Paris, Oct 24: Oscar-winning Australian actress Nicole Kidman will be the new face of the iconic fragrance Chanel No. 5 in an advertising campaign created by her "Moulin Rouge" director Baz Luhrmann, Chanel announced today. Kidman was chosen "because she represents a unique standard of elegance and embodies the spirit and modernity of Chanel," the venerable French Fashion House said in a statement. The television commercials and print ads featuring the 36-year-old actress and produced by Luhrmann will be launched worldwide in autumn 2004. The terms and length of Kidman's contract with Chanel were not revealed.
Chanel no 5, created in 1921, remains the best-selling perfume in the world, according to the label.

Coco Chanel herself was the first spokesmodel for the fragrance, followed by actresses like Catherine Deneuve, Ali Macgraw, Candice Bergen and Carole Bouquet. Marilyn Monroe became perhaps the best ambassador for the perfume - albeit without a contract - when she told journalists that she slept in nothing more than a few drops of Chanel No 5. Bureau Report