Natalie Portman is an award-winning Israeli-American actress born on June 9, 1981 in Jerusalem, Israel. The daughter of Avner Hershlag and Shelley Stevens, who is also her agent, Natalie Portman is of Austrian and Russian descent. Her family moved to the United States when she was three years old. They first settled in Washington D.C., where she studied at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, then transferred to Connecticut before permanently living in Long Island, New York, where she attended Solomon Schechter Day School. Known as a straight-A student, Natalie Portman gives more importance to her studies than in her acting. In 2003, she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard College. The following year, she pursued her graduate studies at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Portman began taking dancing lessons at the age of four. By the time she was 10, Revlon offered her a modeling contract but she turned it down, saying that unlike other kids, she was far more ambitious. She made her film debut in 1994, when she portrayed a young girl who befriended a hitman in the action drama film Leon. This was then followed by her roles in the films Heat, Everyone Says I Love You, and Mars Attacks!. In 1996, Portman did a starring role in Ted Demme’s Beautiful Girls, alongside Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Mira Sorvino, Annabeth Gish, Timothy Hutton, Lauren Holly, Martha Plimpton, Michael Rapaport and Rosie O'Donnell. The following year, she starred as Anne Frank in the Broadway version of The Diary of Anne Frank.
In 1999, Portman further gained popularity when she starred as Padme Amidala in George Lucas’s Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. She later reprised this role for the film’s sequels Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones released in 2002, and Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith released in 2005.
After graduating from Harvard, Portman returned to the big screen when she co-starred with Zach Braff in the 2004 independent film Garden State, which was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, and won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. She also co-starred with Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Clive Owen in Patrick Marber’s Closer, as Alice Ayres. Her performance in the film earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an Academy Award nomination. In 2006, she starred as Evey Hammond in James McTeigue’s action thriller V for Vendetta.
Graduated from Syosset High School, Syosset, New York. [29 June 1999]
Has been a vegetarian since the age of 8.
Has taken dance lessons since the age of 4.
Can speak two languages, Hebrew and English (her native languages), fluently. Also knows some conversational French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
Was a member of the environmental song and dance troupe The World Patrol Kids under her real name, Natalie Hershlag.
She is an only child.
Natalie was born on her mother's 29th birthday.
Father's name: Avner. Mother's name: Shelley.
Received her Harvard degree in June of 2003.
Favorite actor is Ben Kingsley.
Is trained in ballet, jazz, and tap dancing.
Is close friends with Jake Gyllenhaal and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Shares a birthday with Johnny Depp and Michael J. Fox.
Family friend of Audrey Hepburn.
Leon (1994)
Heat (1995)
Beautiful Girls (1996)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Anywhere But Here (1999)
Star Wars Episode I (1999)
Where the Heart Is (2000)
Star Wars Episode II (2002)
Garden State (2004)
Closer (2004)
Star Wars Episode III (2005)
Free Zone (2005)
V For Vendetta (2005)
Paris, je t'aime (2006)
Goya's Ghosts (2006)
My Blueberry nights (2007)
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
On Lolita (1997): "I don't think there needs to be a movie out where a child has sex with an adult."
On Lolita (1997): I think there's enough exploitation out there that it's not nescessary to do more.
Young actors often don't think of the consequences of doing nudity or sex scenes. They want the role so badly that they agree to be exploited, and then end up embarassing family, friends, and even strangers.
On acting: "I started to do this at age 11. At age 20, I might say, this is enough."
On violence in the media: "We live in a violent world, but since the success of films like Pulp Fiction (1994), it seems every movie has some violence in it, and it's now being used as a form of comedy: audiences are now being encouraged to laugh when people get their heads blown off. I just don't like hearing people laugh at violence."
I also feel I'm a positive role model by not putting my education on hold.
I want to use college to explore what other careers I might be interested in.