Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman Reuters

Nicole Kidman proves she's still got it at 45 by revealing a lot of skin for V magazine's September travel issue, which hits newstands Aug. 30.

The alabaster-skinned beauty went topless on the cover, shielding her buds with her arms. But there was no hiding her perky derriere in a barely-there skirt -- we're not sure we should even call the skimpy material a skirt, really. Her glossy skyscraper heels completed the risky look.

Kidman's makeup was a far cry from the toned-down maquillage she usually opts for. She looked vivacious with her bleached-blonde locks and smoldered with her sultry, smoky eyes. The photographs were taken by Peruvian fashion photographer Mario Testino.

In the issue, the Australian beauty spoke about urinating on her hunky co-star Zac Efron during shooting of their latest flick, "Paperboy."

"The peeing thing, I didn't think that was weird, because I was in character," Kidman said in the interview.

"And for me it said so much about [my character]. One, she's protecting him. Two, she's tough as nails and no one else is going to pee on this guy. All of that made total sense to me. I just went for it and didn't overthink it."

If you're wondering how the usually regal actress has developed such chutzpah, she said. "I don't really make decisions, I go with the flow. If I were a strategically minded person, I think I would have a far different career. But I would be more outlandish if I could. A lot of times you just don't get the chance."

Kidman admits to being a literary enthusiast, a hobby discovered during her childhood when her parents forbade her from spending too much time in the sun. Her favorite authors are Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Flaubert.

"At the time I thought it was the cruelest thing, and now I know it was the greatest gift," she said.

She apparently learned about her sexuality through books. "I probably had a strong sexuality as a child, so that informs all that yearning and wanting things, and the hormones that are running through you at an early age - they all started to surge because of the things I was reading." Sounds like she was also fond of those Harlequin romance novels.

Kidman married country music star Keith Urban in 2006, and the couple have two adorable daughters together, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret. She adopted two children with her ex-husband Tom Cruise during their marriage, Isabella and Connor.