Natalie Portman

About Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem, Israel where she lived with her family until the age of three. Her father, an accomplished physician, moved his family to Washington D.C., where they lived for four years. When Natalie was eight, her family moved again, this time to Connecticut, until making the final move to Long Island, New York when Natalie was nine years old.

When Natalie Portman was 11, she was at a local pizza parlor, where she was "discovered" by a Revlon cosmetics model scout. Natalie reportedly found the world of modeling "boring" and decided to pursue an acting career -- in 1994 she landed the role of Mathilda in the film The Professional. It was this role that prompted Natalie to use the stage name of Portman as opposed to her real name of Hershlag.

Though she loved the script, Natalie thought the role of Mathilda was a bit controversial (some critics referred to it as "Lolita-esque") and didn't want her film choices to negatively affect her family. Portman is her maternal grandmother's last name.

Natalie Portman's Filmography

Since her first major film role in 1994, Natalie has appeared in 23 movies over the past 14 years. It wasn't until her role as Queen Amidala in the Star Wars prequels that Hollywood began to stand up and take notice of the young actress.

• Heat 1995
• Beautiful Girls 1996
• Everyone Says I Love You' 1996
• Mars Attacks! 1996
• Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace 1999
• Anywhere But Here 1999
• Where the Heart Is 2000
• Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones 2002
• Cold Mountain 2003
• Garden State 2004
• True 2004
• Closer 2004
• Domino One 2005
• Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith 2005
• Free Zone 2005
• V for Vendetta 2005
• Paris I Love You 2006
• Goya's Ghost 2006
• My Blueberry Nights 2007
• Hotel Chevalier 2007
• The Darjeeling Limited 2007
• Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium 2007

Other Accomplishments

It wasn't enough for Natalie Portman to be a talented actress, and in 1999, she began attending Ivy League school Harvard University. Natalie moved into the dorms on campus and reportedly told the public that she would not be acting in any other films except Star Wars (for which she was already committed) for the next four years in order to complete her degree. True to her word, Natalie earned her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and graduated from Harvard in 2003.

Romantic Links

Portman's personal life is rarely tabloid fodder. She has however, been romantically linked to a few gentlemen:

• Actor Gael Garcia Bernal
• Jake Gyllenhaal
• Lead singer of Maroon 5, Adam Levine
• British banking billionaire Nathan Rothschild
• Model Nathan Bogle

Though she had been spotted around town with Gyllenhaal and Levine, Portman claims that she was not dating either of them and they are merely friends.

Natalie Portman Facts

Here are a few fun facts and other things about Natalie Portman:

• She is an only child
• She speaks French and Hebrew
• Her mother is from Cincinnati, Ohio
• Talk show host David Letterman proclaimed she was the "new Audrey Hepburn"
• Has been a vegetarian since she was a young child
• Her grandparents (paternal) escaped the Holocaust

Upcoming Projects

Portman has reportedly just completed filming The Other Boleyn Girl along with Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana. The film is set to be released in February 2008. She is currently working on the film Brothers with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire and finally, she is rumored to star alongside Jet Li in the action film Snow and Seven, set for release sometime in 2008.