{"id":4996,"date":"2025-07-24T10:06:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T10:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/?p=4996"},"modified":"2025-07-24T10:32:48","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T10:32:48","slug":"natalie-portman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/?p=4996","title":{"rendered":"NATALIE PORTMAN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Natalie Hershlag<\/strong> <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0(born\u00a0June 9, 1981), known professionally as\u00a0Natalie Portman<\/strong>, is an actress, film producer and director with dual\u00a0Israeli<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0American<\/a>\u00a0citizenship. She has had a\u00a0prolific screen career<\/a>\u00a0from her teenage years and has starred in various\u00a0blockbusters<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0independent films<\/a>, receiving\u00a0multiple accolades<\/a>, including an\u00a0Academy Award<\/a>, a\u00a0BAFTA Award<\/a>, and two\u00a0Golden Globe Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman was born in West Jerusalem<\/a> and raised on Long Island<\/a>, New York, where she began her acting career at twelve, starring as the young prot\u00e9g\u00e9e<\/a> of a hitman in L\u00e9on: The Professional<\/a><\/em> (1994). While still in high school, she made her Broadway<\/a> debut in The Diary of Anne Frank<\/a><\/em> (1997) and gained international recognition for her role as Padm\u00e9 Amidala<\/a> in Star Wars: Episode I \u2013 The Phantom Menace<\/a><\/em> (1999). From 1999 to 2003, Portman attended Harvard University, earning a bachelor's degree in psychology. During this time, she took fewer acting roles but continued to appear in the Star Wars<\/em> prequel trilogy<\/a> (2002 and 2005) and performed in a 2001 revival of Anton Chekhov<\/a>'s The Seagull<\/a><\/em> at The Public Theater<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her career gained further momentum in 2004 when she won a Golden Globe<\/a> and received an Academy Award<\/a> nomination for Best Supporting Actress<\/a> for Closer<\/a><\/em>. She then played Evey Hammond<\/a> in V for Vendetta<\/a><\/em> (2005), Anne Boleyn<\/a> in The Other Boleyn Girl<\/a><\/em> (2008), and a troubled ballerina in Black Swan<\/a><\/em> (2010), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress<\/a>. In the following years, Portman starred in the romantic comedy No Strings Attached<\/a><\/em> (2011) and portrayed Jacqueline Kennedy<\/a> in Jackie<\/a><\/em> (2016), which earned her a third Academy Award nomination. She also became a prominent figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe<\/a>, playing Jane Foster<\/a> in Thor<\/a><\/em> (2011), Thor: The Dark World<\/a><\/em> (2013), and Thor: Love and Thunder<\/a><\/em> (2022), which established her as one of the world's highest-paid actresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman has also directed the short film Eve<\/a><\/em> (2008) and the biographical drama A Tale of Love and Darkness<\/a><\/em> (2015), in which she also starred. In 2021, she co-founded the production company MountainA, under which she produced and starred in the film May December<\/a><\/em> (2023) and the miniseries Lady in the Lake<\/a><\/em> (2024). Portman is an advocate for various causes, including women\u2019s rights<\/a>, environmental issues, and animal welfare<\/a>, supporting organizations like the Human Rights Foundation<\/a> and the Jane Goodall Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Natalie Hershlag <\/sup> was born on June 9, 1981, <\/a><\/sup> in West Jerusalem<\/a>, Mount Scopus<\/a>, at Hadassah Medical Center<\/a> <\/a><\/sup> to Jewish parents. She is the only child of Shelley Stevens, an Ohio-born artist, and Avner Hershlag, an Israeli-born<\/a> gynecologist. <\/sup> Portman\u2019s maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia<\/a> and Austria<\/a> who settled in the United States, while her paternal grandparents emigrated<\/a> from Poland<\/a> to Israel in the late 1930s<\/a>. Her grandfather had led a Jewish youth movement<\/a> in Poland and came to Israel expecting to send for his family later, but they perished in the gas chambers<\/a> of Auschwitz<\/a>. Her paternal grandmother, originally from Romania<\/a>, worked as a spy for the British<\/a> during World War II<\/a>. Portman is a dual citizen of Israel and the United States. <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman and her family migrated to the United States when she was 3, ]<\/a><\/sup> first living in Washington, D.C., but relocating to Connecticut<\/a> in 1988 and then settling in Syosset, Long Island<\/a>. ]<\/a><\/sup> While living in Washington, Portman attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School<\/a> in Rockville, Maryland<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup> Her native language is Hebrew<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup> While living on Long Island, she attended a Jewish elementary school, the Solomon Schechter Day School of Nassau County<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup> She studied ballet and modern dance at the American Theater Dance Workshop, and regularly attended the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup> Describing her early life, Portman has said that she was \"different from the other kids. I was more ambitious. I knew what I liked and what I wanted, and I worked very hard. I was a very serious kid.\" <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Portman was ten years old, a Revlon<\/a> agent spotted her at a pizza restaurant<\/a> and asked her to become a child model. <\/a><\/sup> She turned down the offer but used the opportunity to get an acting agent. She auditioned for the 1992 off-Broadway<\/a> Ruthless!<\/a><\/em>, a musical about a girl who is prepared to commit murder to get the lead in a school play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Career<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1994\u20131998: Early work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Six months after Ruthless!<\/em> ended, Hershlag auditioned for and secured a leading role in Luc Besson<\/a>'s action drama L\u00e9on: The Professional<\/a><\/em> (1994). <\/a><\/sup> She adopted her paternal grandmother's maiden name, Portman, as her stage name. <\/sup> She played Mathilda, an orphan child who befriends a middle-aged hitman (played by Jean Reno<\/a>). Her parents were reluctant to let her do the part due to the explicit sexual and violent nature of the script, but agreed after Besson took out the Mathilda character's nudity and killings that she committed. <\/a><\/sup> Portman herself said that after those scenes were removed, she found nothing objectionable about the content. <\/a><\/sup> Even so, her mother was displeased with some of the \"sexual twists and turns\" in the finished film, which were not part of the script. <\/a><\/sup> Hal Hinson<\/a> of The Washington Post<\/a><\/em> commended Portman for bringing a \"genuine sense of tragedy\" to her part, but Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles Times<\/a><\/em> believed that she wasn't \"enough of an actress to unfold Mathilda's pain\" and criticized Besson's sexualization of her character. <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"There's a surprising preponderance of that kind of role for young girls. Sort of being fantasy objects for men, and especially this idealised purity combined with the fertility of youth, and all this in one. ... It was definitely interesting to think about \u2013 why men write the female characters they do. Just like the way they write the male character. How much is wish-fulfilment fantasy, and why.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

After filming The Professional<\/em>, Portman went back to school and during the summer break of 1994, she filmed a part in Marya Cohn<\/a>'s short film Developing<\/a><\/em>. In it she played a young girl coping with her mother's (played by Frances Conroy<\/a>) cancer. <\/a><\/sup> She also enrolled at the Stagedoor Manor<\/a> performing arts camp, where she played Anne Shirley<\/a> in a staging of Anne of Green Gables<\/a><\/em>. <\/a><\/sup> Michael Mann<\/a> offered her the small part of the suicidal stepdaughter of Al Pacino<\/a>'s character in the action film Heat<\/a><\/em> (1995) for her ability to portray dysfunction without hysteria. <\/sup> Impressed by her performance in The Professional<\/em>, the director Ted Demme<\/a> cast her as a precocious teenager who flirts with her much-older neighbor (played by Timothy Hutton<\/a>) in the ensemble comedy-drama Beautiful Girls<\/a><\/em> (1996). <\/a><\/sup> Janet Maslin<\/a> of The New York Times<\/a><\/em> wrote, \"Portman, a budding knockout, is scene-stealingly good even in an overly showy role.\" <\/a><\/sup> She subsequently went back to Stagedoor Manor to appear in a production of the musical Cabaret<\/a><\/em>. Also in 1996, Portman had brief roles in Woody Allen<\/a>'s musical Everyone Says I Love You<\/a><\/em> and Tim Burton<\/a>'s comic science fiction film Mars Attacks!<\/a><\/em> <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman was cast opposite\u00a0Leonardo DiCaprio<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Baz Luhrmann<\/a>'s\u00a0Romeo + Juliet<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(1996), but she dropped out during rehearsals when studio executives found her too young for the role. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Luhrmann said \"Natalie was amazing in the footage, but it was too much of a burden for her at that age\" \u00a0She was also offered\u00a0Adrian Lyne<\/a>'s\u00a0Lolita<\/a><\/em>, based on the\u00a0novel of the same name<\/a>, but she turned down the part due to its excessive sexual content. <\/sup>\u00a0She later bemoaned that her parts in\u00a0The Professional<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Beautiful Girls<\/em>\u00a0prompted a series of offers to play a sexualized youngster, adding that it \"dictated a lot of my choices afterwards 'cos it scared me ... it made me reluctant to do sexy stuff\". <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman instead signed on to star as Anne Frank<\/a> in a Broadway<\/a> revival of The Diary of Anne Frank<\/a><\/em>, which was staged at the Music Box Theatre<\/a> from December 1997 to May 1998. In preparation, she twice visited the Anne Frank House<\/a> in Amsterdam and interacted with Miep Gies<\/a>, who had preserved Anne's diary after the family was captured; she found a connection with Frank's story, given her own family's history with the Holocaust. <\/a><\/sup> Reviewing the production for Variety<\/a><\/em>, Greg Evans disliked her portrayal, which he thought had \"little of the charm, budding genius or even brittle intelligence that the diary itself reveals\"  Conversely, Ben Brantley<\/a> found an \"ineffable grace in her awkwardness\". <\/a><\/sup> The experience of performing the play was emotionally draining for her, as she attended high school during the day and performed at night; she wrote personal essays in Time<\/a><\/em> and Seventeen<\/a><\/em> magazines about her experience. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1999\u20132006: Star Wars<\/em>, education, and transition to mature roles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Portman began filming the part of Padm\u00e9 Amidala<\/a> in the Star Wars<\/em> prequel trilogy<\/a> in 1997, which marked her first big-budget production. The first film of the series, Episode I \u2013 The Phantom Menace<\/a><\/em> was released in 1999, when she was in her senior year of high school.[45]<\/a><\/sup> Portman was unfamiliar with the franchise when she was cast, and watched the original Star Wars<\/em> trilogy<\/a> before filming began. <\/a><\/sup> She worked closely with the director George Lucas<\/a> on her character's accent and mannerisms, and watched the films of Lauren Bacall<\/a>, Audrey Hepburn<\/a>, and Katharine Hepburn<\/a> to draw inspiration from their voice and stature. Filming in arduous locations in Algeria proved challenging for Portman. <\/sup> She did not attend the film's premiere so she could study for her high school finals. <\/a><\/sup> The critical response to the film was mixed, but with earnings of $924 million worldwide it was the second highest-grossing film<\/a> of all time to that point, and it established Portman as a global star. <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman graduated from Syosset High School<\/a> in 1999. <\/sup> Her high school paper, \"A Simple Method to Demonstrate the Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen from Sugar\", co-authored with scientists Ian Hurley and Jonathan Woodward, was entered in the Intel Science Talent Search<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup> Following production on The Phantom Menace<\/em>, Portman initially turned down a lead role in the coming-of-age film Anywhere but Here<\/a><\/em> (1999) after learning it would involve a sex scene, but the director Wayne Wang<\/a> and actress Susan Sarandon<\/a> (who played Portman's mother in the film) demanded a rewrite of the script. She was shown a new draft, and decided to accept the part. Mary Elizabeth Williams<\/a> of Salon<\/a><\/em> called Portman's performance \"astonishing\" and added that \"unlike any number of actresses her age, she's neither too maudlin nor too plucky\". <\/a><\/sup> She received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress<\/a> nomination for it. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman's sole screen appearance in 2000 was in Where the Heart Is<\/a><\/em>, a romantic drama filmed in Texas, in which she played a pregnant teenager. <\/a><\/sup> After finishing work on the film, she began attending Harvard University<\/a> to pursue her bachelor's degree in psychology, and significantly reduced her acting roles over the next few years. At Harvard she served as Alan Dershowitz<\/a>'s research assistant<\/a> for his book The Case for Israel<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup><\/em> Both spoke highly of each other and described themselves as close friends, with Dershowitz calling her a \"terrific student.\" <\/sup> She then studied advanced Hebrew literature<\/a> and neurobiology<\/a>, <\/a><\/sup> In the summer of 2001, she returned to Broadway (at the Delacorte Theater<\/a>) to perform Chekhov<\/a>'s drama The Seagull<\/a><\/em>, which was directed by Mike Nichols<\/a> and co-starred Meryl Streep<\/a> and Philip Seymour Hoffman<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup> Linda Winer of Newsday<\/a><\/em> wrote that the \"major surprises come from Portman, whose Nina transforms with astonishing lyricism from the girl with ambition to Chekhov's most difficult symbol of destruction\". <\/a><\/sup> Also in 2001, Portman was among several celebrities who made cameo appearances in the comedy Zoolander<\/a><\/em>. <\/a><\/sup> The following year she reprised her role of Amidala in Star Wars: Episode II \u2013 Attack of the Clones<\/a><\/em>, which she had filmed in Sydney and London during her summer break of 2000. <\/a><\/sup> She was excited by the opportunity to play a confident young woman who did not depend on the male lead. <\/a><\/sup> When asked about balancing her career and education, she said, \"I don't care if [college] ruins my career. I'd rather be smart than a movie star.\" <\/sup> In 2002, she contributed to a study on memory called \"Frontal lobe<\/a> activation during object permanence<\/a>: data from near-infrared spectroscopy\". <\/sup> Portman graduated from Harvard in 2003 and her sole screen appearance that year was in the brief part of a young mother in the war film Cold Mountain<\/a><\/em>. [75]<\/a><\/sup> She described this period as the \"most difficult time\" in her life, noting that she wasn't getting work and felt criticized for her performances in Star Wars<\/em>. After taking time off, she begged for the Cold Mountain<\/em> role, which Mike Nichols<\/a> helped secure, offering her a letter of support that helped her regain confidence. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Portman<\/a>
Portman on the set of Free Zone<\/a><\/em> in 2005<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Portman began 2004 by featuring in the romantic comedy Garden State<\/a><\/em>, which was written and directed by its star Zach Braff<\/a>. She was the first actor to sign on to the film after finding a connection with her part: a spirited young girl suffering from epilepsy. Her role in it was described by Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club<\/em>. as a prime example of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl<\/a> character type \u2013 a stereotypical female role designed to spiritually help a male protagonist. <\/a><\/sup> Portman later said she found it upsetting to have contributed to the trope. <\/a><\/sup> She followed it by playing a mysterious stripper in Closer<\/a><\/em>, a romantic drama directed by Mike Nichols based on the play of the same name<\/a>, and co-starring Julia Roberts<\/a>, Jude Law<\/a>, and Clive Owen<\/a>. Portman agreed to her first sexually explicit adult role after turning down such parts in the past, saying it reflected her own maturity as a person. <\/sup> She had also performed her first nude scenes for the film, but they were deleted from the final cut when she insisted that they were inessential to the story. <\/a><\/sup> Closer<\/em> grossed over $115 million worldwide against a $27 million budget, and the critic Peter Travers<\/a> took note of Portman's \"blazing, breakthrough performance\", writing that she \"digs so deep into the bruised core of her character that they seem to wear the same skin.\" <\/sup> She won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and received an Academy Award<\/a> nomination in the same category.[83]<\/a>[84]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Star Wars: Episode III \u2013 Revenge of the Sith<\/a><\/em>, the final installment of the Star Wars<\/em> prequel trilogy, was Portman's first film release of 2005. It earned over $848 million to rank as the second-highest-grossing film of the year<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup> She next played a Jewish-American girl in Free Zone<\/a><\/em> (2005), a drama from Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup> During the project, which was shot in Israel \u2014particularly in the spring of 2004\u2014she spent six months taking graduate courses<\/a> at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem<\/a>, studying subjects such as the anthropology<\/a> of violence and Middle Eastern studies<\/a>. In 2005, she read the memoirs of Yitzhak Rabin<\/a> and a novel by David Grossman<\/a>, which she said helped her explore both the role and her own heritage, and remarked that, \"living in Israel is really beautiful. One of the most shocking things is how peaceful it feels.\" <\/sup> Critics disliked the film for its heavy-handed approach to the conflicts in the Middle East. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman's final film role in 2005 was that of Evey Hammond<\/a> in the political thriller V for Vendetta<\/a><\/em>, based on the comics of the same name<\/a>, about an alternative future where a neo-fascist<\/a> regime has subjugated the United Kingdom. She was drawn to the provocative nature of the script, and worked with a dialect coach to speak in an English accent. In a scene in which her character is tortured, her head was shaved on camera; she considered it an opportunity to rid herself of vanity. <\/a><\/sup> Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a><\/em> deemed it Portman's strongest performance to that point, and remarked that she \"keeps you focused on her words and actions instead of her bald head.\" She was awarded the Saturn Award for Best Actress<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman began 2006 by hosting an episode of the television sketch comedy show\u00a0Saturday Night Live<\/a><\/em>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0One of her sketches, a song named \"Natalie's Rap\", was released later in 2009 on\u00a0Incredibad<\/a><\/em>, an album by the\u00a0Lonely Island<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In the anthology film\u00a0Paris, je t'aime<\/a><\/em>, consisting of eighteen short films, she had a role in the segment named \"Faubourg Saint-Denis\" from director\u00a0Tom Tykwer<\/a> <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Later that year, she starred in\u00a0Milo\u0161 Forman<\/a>'s\u00a0Goya's Ghosts<\/a><\/em>, about the painter\u00a0Francisco Goya<\/a>. Forman cast her in the film after finding a resemblance between her and Goya's portrait\u00a0The Milkmaid of Bordeaux<\/a><\/em>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She insisted on using a body double for her nude scenes after discovering on set that she had to perform them when they were not originally in the script. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0It received predominantly negative reviews, but\u00a0Roger Ebert<\/a>\u00a0was appreciative of Portman for playing her dual role \"with fearless conviction\". <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2007\u20132015: Career expansion and Black Swan<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\"Portman<\/a>
Portman at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival<\/a>, where she served as a jury member<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Portman began 2007 by replacing\u00a0Jodie Foster<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Wong Kar-wai<\/a>'s romantic drama\u00a0My Blueberry Nights<\/a><\/em>, which was his first English-language film. For her role as a gambler, she trained with a poker coach. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Richard Corliss<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Time<\/a><\/em>\u00a0magazine believed that \"for once she's not playing a waif or a child princess but a mature, full-bodied woman\" and commended her \"vibrancy, grittiness and ache, all performed with a virtuosa's easy assurance\". Her next appearance was in\u00a0Hotel Chevalier<\/a><\/em>, a short film from\u00a0Wes Anderson<\/a>, which served as a prolog to his feature\u00a0The Darjeeling Limited<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(in which Portman had a cameo). <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In the short, she and\u00a0Jason Schwartzman<\/a>\u00a0play former lovers who reunite in a Paris hotel room. For the first time, Portman performed an extended nude scene; she was later disappointed at the undue focus on it and she subsequently swore off appearing nude again. <\/sup>\u00a0Keen to work in different genres, Portman accepted a role in the children's film\u00a0Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium<\/a><\/em>, playing an employee of a magical toy store. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She also appeared in\u00a0Paul McCartney<\/a>'s music video \"Dance Tonight<\/a>\" from his album\u00a0Memory Almost Full<\/a><\/em>, directed by\u00a0Michel Gondry<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scarlett Johansson<\/a>\u00a0and Portman portrayed rival sisters\u00a0Mary<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Anne Boleyn<\/a>, respectively, in the period film\u00a0The Other Boleyn Girl<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(2008). She was excited by the opportunity to work opposite another actress her age, bemoaning that such casting was rare in film. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Derek Elley of\u00a0Variety<\/em>\u00a0was critical of Portman's English accent and wrote that she \"doesn't quite bring the necessary heft to make Anne a truly dominant power player\". <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The film had modest box-office earnings. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She served as a jury member of the\u00a02008 Cannes Film Festival<\/a>\u00a0and also launched her own production company, named handsomecharlie films, after her late dog \u00a0Portman's directorial debut, the short film\u00a0Eve<\/a><\/em>, opened the short-film screenings at the\u00a065th Venice International Film Festival<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0It is about a young woman who goes to her grandmother's romantic date, and Portman drew inspiration for the older character (played by Lauren Bacall) from her own grandmother <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A poorly received adaptation of\u00a0Ayelet Waldman<\/a>'s novel\u00a0Love and Other Impossible Pursuits<\/a><\/em>, entitled\u00a0The Other Woman<\/a><\/em>, marked Portman's first film role of 2009. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She appeared in a faux perfume commercial called\u00a0Greed<\/em>, directed by\u00a0Roman Polanski<\/a>, and in the anthology film\u00a0New York, I Love You<\/a><\/em>, she directed a segment and also starred in a different segment directed by\u00a0Mira Nair<\/a> \u00a0Portman next took on a role opposite\u00a0Tobey Maguire<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jake Gyllenhaal<\/a>\u00a0in the drama film\u00a0Brothers<\/a><\/em>, a remake of the 2004 Danish\u00a0film of the same name<\/a>. Her role was that of a war widow, for which she spoke with military wives to prepare. The film was shot during the\u00a02007\u201308 Writers Guild of America strike<\/a>, and Portman found it challenging to shoot certain scenes without a written script. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Claudia Puig<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0USA Today<\/a><\/em>\u00a0found her to be \"subdued and reactive in a part that doesn't call for her to do much else\". <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After producing and co-starring alongside\u00a0Joseph Gordon-Levitt<\/a>\u00a0in the black comedy\u00a0Hesher<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(2010) \u00a0Portman played a ballerina overwhelmed with the prospect of performing\u00a0Swan Lake<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0Darren Aronofsky<\/a>'s psychological horror film\u00a0Black Swan<\/a><\/em>. She was trained by the professional ballerina\u00a0Mary Helen Bowers<\/a>, and in preparation, she trained for five to eight hours daily for six months and lost 20 pounds (9\u00a0kg). <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Her performance was acclaimed; writing for\u00a0Empire<\/em>, Dan Jolin found her to be \"simultaneously at her most vulnerable and her most predatory, at once frostily brittle and raunchily malleable [...] before peaking at the film's denouement with a raw, alluring showstopper of a performance.\" <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Black Swan<\/em>\u00a0emerged as a\u00a0sleeper hit<\/a>, grossing over $329\u00a0million worldwide against a $13\u00a0million budget, and earned Portman several awards, including the\u00a0Academy Award for Best Actress<\/a>. <\/sup>\u00a0Following her Oscar win,\u00a0controversy<\/a>\u00a0arose over who performed the bulk of the on-screen dancing in the film. Sarah Lane<\/a>, one of Portman's dancing doubles in the film, claimed that the actress performed only about five percent of the full-body shots, adding that she was asked by the film's producers not to speak publicly about it during\u00a0awards season<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Aronofsky defended Portman by insisting that she had performed 80 percent of the on-screen dancing. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Portman<\/a>
Portman at the 83rd Academy Awards<\/a> in 2011, where she won the Academy Award for Best Actress<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Portman next served as an executive producer for\u00a0No Strings Attached<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(2011), a romantic comedy in which she starred with\u00a0Ashton Kutcher<\/a>\u00a0as a young couple in a\u00a0casual sex<\/a>\u00a0relationship. She described the experience of making it as a \"palate cleanser\" from the intensity of\u00a0Black Swan<\/em>. It received unfavorable reviews but was a commercial success. <\/a>[129]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0
She next agreed to the film\u00a0Your Highness<\/a><\/em>\u00a0for the opportunity of playing an athletic and foul-mouthed character, which she believed was rare for actresses. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Critics were dismissive of the film's reliance on\u00a0scatological humor<\/a>\u00a0and it proved to be a\u00a0box-office bomb<\/a>. <\/a> <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In her final film release of 2011, Portman took on the part of\u00a0Jane Foster<\/a>, a scientist and love-interest of the\u00a0titular character<\/a>\u00a0(played by\u00a0Chris Hemsworth<\/a>) in the\u00a0Marvel Cinematic Universe<\/a>\u00a0superhero film\u00a0Thor<\/a><\/em>. She liked the idea of\u00a0Kenneth Branagh<\/a>\u00a0directing a big-budget film that emphasized character; she signed on to it before receiving a script, and helped develop her part by reading the biography of scientists such as\u00a0Rosalind Franklin<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Richard Kuipers of\u00a0Variety<\/em>\u00a0commended Portman's \"sterling work in a thinly written role\" for adding dimension to the film's romantic subplot. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Thor<\/em>\u00a0earned $449.3\u00a0million worldwide to emerge as the\u00a015th highest-grossing film of 2011<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2012, Portman topped\u00a0Forbes<\/a><\/em>'\u00a0listing of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Her sole screen appearance that year was in\u00a0Paul McCartney<\/a>'s music video \"My Valentine\", alongside\u00a0Johnny Depp<\/a> \u00a0The following year, she reprised the role of Jane Foster in\u00a0Thor: The Dark World<\/a><\/em>, which earned over $644\u00a0million worldwide to emerge as the\u00a010th highest-grossing film of 2013<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Forbes<\/em>\u00a0featured her in their\u00a0Celebrity 100<\/a>\u00a0listing of 2014, and estimated her income from the previous year to be $13\u00a0million. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2015, Portman appeared alongside an ensemble cast, including Christian Bale<\/a>, in Terrence Malick<\/a>'s experimental drama film Knight of Cups<\/a><\/em>, which marked her first project after giving birth. She shot for it within a week of returning to work and she did not receive a traditional script or dialogues, improvising most of her scenes with Bale. <\/sup> She said that shooting with Malick influenced her own directorial venture, A Tale of Love and Darkness<\/a><\/em> which was released in the same year. <\/a><\/sup> Based on Israeli author Amos Oz<\/a>'s autobiographical novel of the same name<\/a> which is set in Jerusalem during the last years of the British Mandate of Palestine<\/a>, the Hebrew-language film starred Portman who also produced and co-wrote it. <\/sup> She had wanted to adapt the book since she first read it a decade ago, but postponed it until she was old enough to play the leading role of a mother herself. She collaborated closely with Amos, showing him drafts of her script as she adapted the book.[<\/a><\/sup> The film received partial funding from the rightist Israeli government, She later remarked that it was easier to be a female director in Israel than in the U.S., \"thanks to the IDF<\/a>\". She explained that Israeli men are accustomed to female officers and commanders, \"making it easier for them to accept female authority.\" Critics gave the film generally positive reviews  A. O. Scott<\/a> of The New York Times<\/em> found it to be a \"conscientious adaptation of a difficult book\" and was appreciative of Portman's potential as a filmmaker. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She next produced and starred in the\u00a0western<\/a>\u00a0film\u00a0Jane Got a Gun<\/a><\/em>\u00a0about a young mother seeking vengeance. Initially scheduled to be directed by\u00a0Lynne Ramsay<\/a>, the production was plagued with numerous difficulties. Ramsay did not turn up on set for the first day of filming and was eventually replaced with\u00a0Gavin O'Connor<\/a>.\u00a0Michael Fassbender<\/a>,\u00a0Jude Law<\/a>, and\u00a0Bradley Cooper<\/a>\u00a0were all cast as the male lead, before\u00a0Ewan McGregor<\/a>\u00a0played the part. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Peter Bradshaw<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0The Guardian<\/a><\/em>\u00a0reviewed that Portman's \"stately performance\" was not enough to save the \"laborious and solemn western\", and it grossed less than $4\u00a0million against its $25\u00a0million budget. <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2016\u2013present: Jackie<\/em> and production ventures<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
\"Portman<\/a>
Portman attending the premiere of Planetarium<\/a><\/em> at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Portman portrayed\u00a0Jacqueline Kennedy<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Pablo Larra\u00edn<\/a>-directed biopic\u00a0Jackie<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(2016), about Kennedy's life immediately after the\u00a01963 assassination<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0her husband<\/a>. She was initially intimidated to take on the part of a well-known public figure,[155]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and eventually researched Kennedy extensively by watching videos of her, reading books, and listening to audiotapes of her interviews. <\/sup>\u00a0She also worked with a dialect coach to adopt Kennedy's unique speaking style. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0David Rooney of\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/em>\u00a0termed it an \"incandescent performance\" and added that \"her Jackie is both inscrutable and naked, broken but unquestionably resilient, a mess and yet fiercely dignified\". <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She won the\u00a0Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress<\/a>\u00a0and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. <\/sup>\u00a0She also served as producer for the\u00a0comedy horror<\/a>\u00a0film\u00a0Pride and Prejudice and Zombies<\/a><\/em>, directed by\u00a0Burr Steers<\/a>, and starred in\u00a0Rebecca Zlotowski<\/a>'s French-Belgian drama\u00a0Planetarium<\/a><\/em>. <\/sup>\u00a0The 2017 experimental romance\u00a0Song to Song<\/a><\/em>\u00a0marked Portman's second collaboration with Terrence Malick, which like their previous film polarized critics. That year, Portman revealed that she has experienced sexual harassment or discrimination in almost every project she has worked on, despite initially believing she had avoided such experiences. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, Portman starred in the science fiction film\u00a0Annihilation<\/a><\/em>, based on\u00a0Jeff VanderMeer<\/a>'s\u00a0novel<\/a>. She played a biologist and former soldier who studies a mysterious quarantined zone of mutating organisms \u00a0She was pleased to headline a rare female-led science fiction film, and she moved her family near\u00a0Pinewood Studios<\/a>\u00a0during filming. For the action sequences, she underwent movement training with the dancer\u00a0Bobbi Jene Smith<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Benjamin Lee of\u00a0The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0took note of Portman's \"strong, fiercely compelling presence\" and commended her for playing the part without unnecessary sentimentality. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0It only received a limited theatrical release and was distributed on\u00a0Netflix<\/a>\u00a0internationally. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Her next appearance was in\u00a0Xavier Dolan<\/a>'s first English-language film, the ensemble drama\u00a0The Death & Life of John F. Donovan<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(2018), which was termed a \"shocking misfire\" by Eric Kohn of\u00a0IndieWire<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She then starred as a troubled pop singer in\u00a0Vox Lux<\/a><\/em>, sharing the part with\u00a0Raffey Cassidy<\/a>. She was drawn to the idea of showcasing the negative effects of fame, and in preparation, she watched documentaries on musicians and listened to the music of\u00a0Sia<\/a>, who wrote her songs in the film. For the climactic dance routines, she trained with her then-husband,\u00a0Benjamin Millepied<\/a>, who choreographed the sequence. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0It received mixed reviews from critics, but Portman's performance earned praise. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Comparing it to her performances in\u00a0Black Swan<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Jackie<\/em>,\u00a0Robbie Collin<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/a><\/em>\u00a0wrote that \"this role has a similar audacity and extravagance that few actresses would dare attempt, let alone be allowed to get away with\". <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Portman<\/a>
Portman at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con<\/a> promoting Thor: Love and Thunder<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Unused footage from\u00a0Thor: The Dark World<\/em>\u00a0and a new voice-over were used for Portman's brief appearance in the 2019 superhero film\u00a0Avengers: Endgame<\/a><\/em>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She then portrayed a psychologically troubled astronaut (based on\u00a0Lisa Nowak<\/a>) in the drama\u00a0Lucy in the Sky<\/a><\/em>, directed by\u00a0Noah Hawley<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She replaced the film's producer\u00a0Reese Witherspoon<\/a>, who backed out due to a scheduling conflict. The film was poorly received, though Portman's performance was praised. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The following year, she narrated the\u00a0Disney+<\/a>\u00a0nature documentary\u00a0Dolphin Reef<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and voiced Jane Foster in the animated series\u00a0What If...?<\/a><\/em>. <\/sup>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, Portman reprised her role as Foster in the sequel\u00a0Thor: Love and Thunder<\/a><\/em>, in which her character becomes\u00a0Mighty Thor<\/a>. <\/sup>\u00a0She agreed to return to the franchise after meeting with director\u00a0Taika Waititi<\/a>, who offered to portray her character in an \"adventurous and fun and funny\" way. <\/sup>\u00a0In preparation, Portman took the\u00a0Mjolnir<\/a>\u00a0prop<\/a>\u00a0home to practice using it for her stunts \u00a0Nick Allen at\u00a0RogerEbert.com<\/a>\u00a0opined, \"In both her human and her heroic state, Portman\u2019s performance conveys why it's great to see Jane again.\" Portman received a nomination for the\u00a0Critics' Choice Super Award<\/a>\u00a0for Best Actress in a Superhero Movie. In a 2022 readers' poll by\u00a0Empire<\/a><\/em>\u00a0magazine, Portman was voted one of the 50 greatest actors of all time. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman and her producing partner, Sophie Mas, founded the production company MountainA in 2021, and signed a first-look television deal with\u00a0Apple TV+<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The company's first project was\u00a0May December<\/a><\/em>, a drama from filmmaker\u00a0Todd Haynes<\/a>, starring Portman and\u00a0Julianne Moore<\/a>, which premiered at the\u00a02023 Cannes Film Festival<\/a>. <\/sup>\u00a0Portman played an actress researching for her role as a woman (played by Moore) whose marriage to a much younger man was highly controversial. She was pleased to work with Haynes, whose work she admired, and to play a morally ambiguous character. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Geoffrey Macnab of\u00a0The Independent<\/a><\/em>\u00a0believed that the film had been \"galvanised by the tremendous performances from Portman and Moore\". <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Portman received another Golden Globe nomination for her performance. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The company next produced the\u00a0HBO<\/a>\u00a0documentary series\u00a0Angel City<\/a><\/em>, about the inaugural season of\u00a0Angel City FC<\/a>, which was co-founded by Portman.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Portman (left) at a press conference for May December<\/a><\/em> at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

MountainA's third project was\u00a0Lady in the Lake<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(2024), an Apple TV+ miniseries adaptation of\u00a0Laura Lippman<\/a>'s\u00a0thriller novel<\/a>. Portman played a 1960s housewife in\u00a0Baltimore<\/a>\u00a0who turns into an investigative journalist following an unsolved murder. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Production in Baltimore was briefly paused when the crew received threats of violence. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Continuing her collaboration with Apple TV+, Portman will next star in\u00a0Fountain of Youth<\/a><\/em>, an adventure film directed by\u00a0Guy Ritchie<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She will also star alongside\u00a0Jenna Ortega<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Cathy Yan<\/a>'s thriller film\u00a0The Gallerist<\/a><\/em>. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Endorsements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond her acting career, Portman has been a longtime ambassador for Dior. She signed with the brand in 2010 and has starred in multiple advertising campaigns. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In March 2011, Portman began voluntarily promoting a\u00a0fundraising campaign<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0Hadassah Medical Center<\/a>\u00a0in Jerusalem. The campaign was aimed at raising funds for the construction of the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower, a new hospitalization tower at the hospital's\u00a0Ein Kerem<\/a>\u00a0campus, which was open in 2012. The campaign was a joint effort with the\u00a0Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America<\/a>, which owns the hospital. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Later in October 2012,\u00a0Britain's Advertising Standards Authority<\/a>\u00a0banned a Dior advertisement that featured Portman wearing Dior mascara after a complaint from Dior's competitor,\u00a0L'Oreal<\/a>, saying that the advert \"misleadingly exaggerated the likely effects of the product\". The ASA ruled that \"the ad was likely to mislead\" \u00a0Portman is the face of one of the company's fragrances, Miss Dior, inspired by\u00a0Catherine Dior<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She has starred in campaign videos for the fragrance, and promoted a new version of the fragrance, Rose N'Roses, in 2021. <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Animal and human rights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Portman has long been an advocate for various causes, including\u00a0animal rights<\/a>, where she became a vegetarian at age eight after witnessing a demonstration of laser surgery on a chicken during a medical conference with her father. This experience deeply influenced her decision and has been a key part of her commitment to\u00a0animal welfare<\/a>. <\/sup>\u00a0She became a\u00a0vegan<\/a>\u00a0in 2009 after reading\u00a0Jonathan Safran Foer<\/a>'s\u00a0Eating Animals<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and later produced a documentary on factory farming systems in the U.S. by the same title. <\/sup>\u00a0In September 2017, she was recognized for her work on the film by the\u00a0Environmental Media Association<\/a>\u00a0Awards with the Ongoing Commitment Award. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She does not wear animal products and has praised animal-friendly products designed by\u00a0Stella McCartney<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Target<\/a>. In 2007, she launched her own brand of animal-friendly footwear. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In 2007, Portman traveled to\u00a0Rwanda<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0Jack Hanna<\/a>\u00a0to film the documentary\u00a0Gorillas on the Brink<\/em>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Portman has been an advocate of\u00a0environmental causes<\/a>\u00a0since childhood, when she joined an environmental song and dance troupe known as World Patrol Kids. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Portman<\/a>
Portman speaking about the global microfinance organization, FINCA<\/a>, at Columbia University<\/a> in 2007<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Portman has also supported anti-poverty causes. In 2004 and 2005, she traveled to\u00a0Uganda<\/a>, Guatemala, and\u00a0Ecuador<\/a>\u00a0as the Ambassador of Hope for\u00a0FINCA International<\/a>, an organization that promotes\u00a0micro-lending<\/a>\u00a0to help finance women-owned businesses in developing countries. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In an interview appearing on the\u00a0PBS<\/a>\u00a0program\u00a0Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria<\/a><\/em>, she discussed\u00a0microfinance<\/a>. Host\u00a0Fareed Zakaria<\/a>\u00a0said that he was \"generally wary of celebrities with fashionable causes\", but included the segment with Portman because \"she really knew her stuff\". On\u00a0This Week with George Stephanopoulos<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in April 2007, Portman discussed her work with FINCA and how it can benefit women and children in\u00a0Third World<\/a>\u00a0countries. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In fall-2007, she visited several university campuses, including Harvard, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, New York University, and Columbia, to inspire students with the power of microfinance and to encourage them to join the\u00a0Village Banking Campaign<\/a>\u00a0to help families and communities lift themselves out of poverty. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman is a supporter of the\u00a0Democratic Party<\/a>, and for the\u00a02004 presidential election<\/a>\u00a0she campaigned for Senator\u00a0John Kerry<\/a>. Prior to the\u00a02008 presidential election<\/a>, she supported Senator\u00a0Hillary Clinton<\/a>\u00a0of New York in the Democratic primaries. Portman later campaigned for Senator\u00a0Barack Obama<\/a>\u00a0of Illinois. In a 2008 interview, she also stated: \"I even like\u00a0John McCain<\/a>. I disagree with his war stance \u2013 which is a really big deal \u2013 but I think he's a very moral person.\" <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In 2010, her activist work and popularity with young people earned her a nomination for\u00a0VH1<\/a>'s\u00a0Do Something<\/a>\u00a0Awards, which is dedicated to honoring individuals who do good. In 2011, Portman and her then-fianc\u00e9 Benjamin Millepied were among the signers of a petition to President Obama in support of\u00a0same-sex marriage<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She supported\u00a0Obama's re-election campaign<\/a>\u00a0in 2012. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2009, Portman signed a petition that defended\u00a0Roman Polanski<\/a>, who was\u00a0charged with drugging and raping a thirteen-year-old girl in 1977<\/a>, and has been a fugitive for decades. <\/sup>\u00a0In February 2018, she expressed regret over signing the petition. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2011, Portman was appointed an ambassador of\u00a0WE Charity<\/a>\u00a0(formerly known as Free The Children), an international charity and educational partner, spearheading their Power of a Girl campaign. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She hosted a contest challenging girls in North America to fundraise for one of WE Charity's all-girl schools in Kenya. As incentives for the contest winner, Portman offered the designer Rodarte dress she wore to the premiere of\u00a0Black Swan<\/em>, along with tickets to her next film premiere. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0It was announced in May 2012 that Portman would be working with watch designer\u00a0Richard Mille<\/a>\u00a0to develop a limited-edition timepiece with proceeds supporting WE Charity. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0During WE Day California 2019 Portman gave a pro vegan speech in front of the student audience, linking vegan lifestyle and feminism. <\/sup>\u00a0In December 2019, she visited Kenya a second time with WE Charity and spoke with young girls determined to improve their lives through access to education.[229]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2006, Portman served as a guest lecturer at\u00a0Columbia University<\/a>\u00a0for a course in\u00a0terrorism<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0counterterrorism<\/a>, where she spoke about her film\u00a0V for Vendetta<\/em>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In February 2015, Portman was among other alumni of Harvard University including\u00a0Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>,\u00a0Darren Aronofsky<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Susan Faludi<\/a>\u00a0who wrote an open letter to the school demanding it\u00a0divest<\/a>\u00a0its $35,900,000,000 endowment from coal, gas, and oil companies. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Later that year in May, she spoke at the annual Harvard Class Day to the graduating class of 2015. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2018, she donated $50,000 to the\u00a0Time's Up<\/a>\u00a0initiative. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Portman took part in the\u00a02018 Women's March<\/a>\u00a0in Los Angeles, where she spoke about the \"sexual terrorism\" she experienced at age thirteen after the release of her film\u00a0L\u00e9on: The Professional<\/em>. She told the crowd, \"I understood very quickly, even as a 13-year-old, that if I were to express myself sexually I would feel unsafe and that men would feel entitled to discuss and objectify my body to my great discomfort.\" <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She drew attention to the\u00a0MeToo movement<\/a>, revealing that her first fan letter was a \"rape fantasy\" from a man and that her local radio station created a countdown until her eighteenth birthday (when she would reach\u00a0legal age to consent<\/a>\u00a0to have intercourse).[234]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In September 2023, Portman spoke at an event for the United Nations Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls, where she urged member states to reinvest in the Initiative and ending gender-based violence..<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, Portman endorsed the \"defund the police<\/a>\" movement. In 2020, Portman collaborated with\u00a0JusticeLA<\/a>\u00a0to create a public service announcement #SuingToSaveLives about the health of people in L.A. County jails amid the\u00a0COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>. ]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Later in 2020, Portman was announced as one of the co-founders and investors in an almost all-female group that was awarded a new franchise in the\u00a0National Women's Soccer League<\/a>, the top level of the\u00a0women's sport in the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0The new team, since unveiled as\u00a0Angel City FC<\/a>, began play in the\u00a02022 NWSL season<\/a>. <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Views on Israel<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\"\"\/<\/a>
Portman at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival<\/a> promoting Black Swan<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Haaretz<\/a><\/em>\u00a0has described Portman as \"one of Israel's outspoken supporters,\" even when global public opinion has turned against Israel, she has remained steadfast in her support for \"the Holy Land,\" advocating through academic articles, lectures, and public declarations. Haaretz<\/em>\u00a0cited Portman raising\u00a0funds<\/a>\u00a0for the reconstruction of\u00a0northern Israel<\/a>\u00a0after the\u00a0Second Lebanon War<\/a>\u00a0as a notable example of her support. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0However, Portman herself has described her relationship with Israel as complex, \"like family\u2014you love it more than anything else in the world, and you are also more critical of it than anything else in the world.\" <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2002, at Harvard, Portman wrote a letter to\u00a0The Harvard Crimson<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in response to an essay critical of\u00a0Israeli actions toward Palestinians<\/a>, arguing that it misleadingly compared the situation to racial\u00a0apartheid<\/a>\u00a0and that instead \"most Israelis and Palestinians are indistinguishable physically\" \u00a0She has criticized the\u00a0Israeli government<\/a>, specifically Prime Minister\u00a0Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, being critical of his\u00a0re-election<\/a>\u00a0in 2015, saying she was \"disappointed\" and found his comments racist. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In November 2017, Portman was announced as the\u00a0Genesis Prize<\/a>\u00a0recipient for 2018, which includes $2,000,000 in prize money. <\/sup>\u00a0The following April, Portman announced that she did not plan to attend the awards ceremony scheduled for June, citing \"recent events in Israel\" that left her feeling uncomfortable attending public events there, leading to the ceremony being canceled. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement did not specify which events, but was suggested as referencing the killings and wounding of Palestinian protestors by Israeli fire during the\u00a02018\u20132019 Gaza border protests<\/a>. <\/sup>\u00a0Portman\u2019s decision sparked backlash from\u00a0Israeli politicians<\/a>, including Culture Minister\u00a0Miri Regev<\/a>, Minister of Public Security and Strategic Affairs\u00a0Gilad Erdan<\/a>\u00a0and American rabbi\u00a0Shmuley Boteach<\/a>, who accused the actress of falling into the hands of the\u00a0BDS<\/a>\u00a0movement. The\u00a0Likud<\/a>\u00a0party condemned Portman\u2019s position, with\u00a0Knesset<\/a>\u00a0member\u00a0Oren Hazan<\/a>\u00a0calling for her Israeli citizenship to be revoked. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portman clarified that she was not boycotting Israel, stating, \"I am not part of the BDS movement and do not endorse it. Like many Israelis and Jews, I can be critical of Israel's leadership without wanting to boycott the nation.\" She explained that she did not want to \"appear as endorsing\" Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was scheduled to speak at the ceremony, and emphasized that \"the mistreatment of those suffering from today\u2019s\u00a0atrocities<\/a>\u00a0is not in line with my Jewish values.\" She added, \"Because I care about Israel, I must stand up against violence, corruption, inequality, and abuse of power\". <\/sup>\u00a0Later in 2018, Portman criticized the passing of the highly controversial and widely criticized\u00a0Nation-State Bill<\/a>, describing the law as \"racist, and there\u2019s nothing else to say about that.\" ]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She is also a member of the\u00a0One Voice movement<\/a>.[256]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 18, 2023, Portman called for the release of\u00a0hostages held by Hamas<\/a>\u00a0and condemned their actions. She also advocated for Israeli children who have been kidnapped, urging support for their release. Additionally, she publicized information about\u00a0Dror Israel<\/a>\u00a0on Instagram to raise funds for children near the\u00a0Gaza border<\/a>\u00a0and called on the\u00a0Red Cross<\/a>\u00a0to address ongoing breaches of International Humanitarian Law within Israel. In November 12, 2023, she took part in the\u00a0March for the Republic and Against Antisemitism<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in Paris in response to the\u00a0rise in antisemitism<\/a>\u00a0since the start of the\u00a0Gaza war<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal life<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"\/<\/a>
Portman with Benjamin Millepied in 2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Portman is a\u00a0polyglot<\/a>, and speaks English, Hebrew, French, German, Japanese and Arabic, to various degrees. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In 2005, Portman bought an apartment in\u00a0Richard Meier<\/a>'s glass tower at\u00a0West Village<\/a>\u00a0for $5.7 million. In 2008, she listed it for sale at $6.55 million. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2006, Portman expressed a strong connection to her Jewish identity, particularly in Israel, and shared her desire to raise her children Jewish: \"A priority for me is definitely that I'd like to raise my kids Jewish, but the ultimate thing is to have someone who is a good person and who is a partner.\" <\/sup>\u00a0Portman has discreetly dated actors\u00a0Zach Braff<\/a>,\u00a0Jake Gyllenhaal<\/a>, <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and\u00a0Devendra Banhart<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She married French dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, with whom she shares two children. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The couple met in 2009 while working together on\u00a0Black Swan<\/em>, <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and wed on August 4, 2012, in a Jewish ceremony in\u00a0Big Sur, California<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2013, she was living in Los Angeles. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0After Millepied was appointed director of dance at the\u00a0Paris Opera Ballet<\/a>, ]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0the family relocated to Paris in the autumn of 2014, where Portman also expressed interest in obtaining French citizenship. <\/sup>\u00a0In January 2014, Millepied announced that he was in the process of\u00a0converting to Judaism<\/a>. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In 2017, she bought a\u00a0Montecito<\/a>\u00a0mansion, which she sold in 2021 for $8 million. ]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0She still owns a home in the\u00a0Los Feliz<\/a>\u00a0neighborhood of Los Angeles \u00a0In early 2023, reports surfaced alleging an extramarital affair by Millepied. The couple never publicly addressed the claims. <\/a><\/sup>\u00a0On March 8, 2024, it was officially announced that Portman and Millepied had divorced. <\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Natalie Hershlag \u00a0(born\u00a0June 9, 1981), known professionally as\u00a0Natalie Portman, is an actress, film producer and director with dual\u00a0Israeli\u00a0and\u00a0American\u00a0citizenship. She has had a\u00a0prolific screen career\u00a0from her teenage years and has starred in various\u00a0blockbusters\u00a0and\u00a0independent films, receiving\u00a0multiple accolades, including an\u00a0Academy Award, a\u00a0BAFTA Award, and two\u00a0Golden Globe Awards. Portman was born in West Jerusalem and raised on Long Island, New York, where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-celebrities"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4996"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4999,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4996\/revisions\/4999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}