Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman Biography

Natalie Portman is an Israeli actress, psychologist, director and producer with American nationality, and is recognized for having won the most important film awards: The Oscar, the actors’ union, the BAFTA and the Golden Globe. She was born on June 9 of 1981 in Jerusalem, Israel, and is the daughter of Avner Hershlag and Shelley Hershlag.

In 1984, his family moved to the United States since his father had to finish his medical career. She started her studies at the Charles E. Smith Jewish School School, but sometime later, her family settled in Long Island, New York, where Natalie continued her studies at the Jewish elementary school called Solomon Schechter Day School; she also took classes in Hebrew and English. She completed high school at Syosset High School, where she graduated in 1999.

ARTISTIC CAREER

When she was 4 years old, her mother enrolled her in dance classes, and since then she started doing small works directed by local academies and dance companies. A modeling agency visited her school and thanks to her qualities, she was selected for a photo shoot. The photos caught the attention of the Wilhelmina Models agency, with which she later reached an agreement with her parents and signed a contract.

In 1991, a Revlon model agent found Natalie Portman in a pizzeria and offered her a job as a model, an offer that the young woman rejected because she wanted to dedicate herself to acting. To promote his film career, at the age of 12, his parents decided to change his surname to an easier and more commercial one and chose that of his maternal grandmother. During the school holidays, Natalie Portman attended theater camps. In that same year, she participated in the audition of the musical “Ruthless!” where she was chosen as a substitute actress with the singer Britney Spears to play the role of Tina Denmark, which was played by Laura Bell Bundy. Her debut in the cinema in 1994, was in the film “Léon” by Luc Besson.

In 1995, Portman was part of the movie “Beautiful Girls” by Ted Demme, she also worked in films such as “Heat” (1995), where he starred opposite Al Pacino; “Mars Attacks” (1996) by Tim Burton and “Everyone Says I Love You” (1996) by Woody Allen.

For the year 1996, she left her participation in the film “Romeo and Juliet” by Baz Luhrmann, due to the age difference between her and Leonardo DiCaprio. She also rejected job offers in the films “Lolita” (1997) and “The Ice Storm” (1997), because the characters offered her had sexual and sinister content. At that time, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as best supporting actress. However, the award was won by Angelina Jolie.

For the year 1997, Natalie Portman was hired to act in the first 3 Star Wars movies of George Lucas. In that same year, she played Anne Frank in the theatrical adaptation of “The Diary of Anne Frank” which was done on the Broadway stages. She also shot the first episode of Star Wars at 16.

In 1999, Portman starred in Matt Williams’ “The Force of Love” which was the first work she did under the authorization of her parents and the first one where she made a love scene.

Between the year 2000 and 2001, she participated in the filming of the second Star Wars movie and finally made part of the third episode in 2003, where she played the roles of the queen and later senator Padmé Amidala, wife (secret) of Anakin Skywalker and mother of Luke and Leia.

For the year 2003, immersed in the completion of his higher studies of psychology, she was part of the movie “Cold Mountain” by Anthony Minghella, playing a small role as an abandoned woman with a small son.

In 2004, the actress was already playing more serious and adult roles. She participated in the movie “Something in Common” where she showed that she could participate in independent films. Natalie had to wait until the end of the year, with the premiere of the movie “Closer” by Mike Nichols, to establish herself completely as a movie star. Thanks to that film, where she was in scenes of high sexual grade, she managed to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Alice. She was also nominated for the Oscars, for the same role in the category of Secondary Actress, but failed to win.

In 2005, she was in the film “Free Zone” by Amos Gitai and in the super production V of Vendetta by James McTeigue, where she played Evey Hammond.

For the year 2006, she recorded in Spain “Goya’s Ghosts” by Miloš Forman, where she played the muse of the painter Goya. A year later, she worked on the movie “2046” by Kar Wai. Time later, the film “The Boleyn sisters” rolled. After having previously rejected roles with nude scenes, in 2007 she also made the 12-minute short film “Hotel Chevalier” where she appeared totally nude.

In the year 2008, she made part of the documentary series “Gorillas de Rwanda” broadcast by the Animal Planet television network, where together with specialists, veterinarians and explorers, she traveled to that country to study the ecological and environmental situation of the gorillas. In that same year, she also participated in the films “Paris, I love you” and “New York, I love you.” In the latter, she acted in one of the segments and directed another.

Natalie Portman presented at the Venice Film Festival 2010 the film “Black Swan” by Darren Aronofsky, a drama set in the world of ballet, art that the actress had practiced in childhood and which he resumed for the movie. Thanks to the excellent performance, she won a Golden Globe Award, a SAG Award and an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in that film. On August 4, 2012, Natalie Portman married Benjamin Millepied, with whom she had 2 children.

PSYCHOLOGY CAREER

Natalie Portman besides being an actress, she stood out for wanting to study and be a professional. She decided to study psychology at Harvard University, where she graduated on June 5, 2003. The actress spoke in an interview about her career, stating: “I do not care if the university ruins my career, I prefer to be smart than a star.” At Harvard, she was Alan Dershowitz’s research assistant in the psychology laboratory.

In 2004, she did a postgraduate degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In the month of March of the year 2006 she was invited as a lecturer to a course on terrorism and counterterrorism at Columbia University, where she talked about the movie V de Vendetta. In the month of May 2015, Natalie Portman gave a speech at Harvard University, aimed at recent graduates, where she motivated them to assume their own inexperience, insecurities, and ignorance to take risks and achieve unimaginable goals for them.

AWARDS

Golden Globe Award for best-supporting actress in the film “Closer”: 2004.
Oscar Award for Best Actress in” The Black Swan”: 2010.
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Drama in the film “The Black Swan”: 2010.
Actors Guild Award for Best Actress, for the movie “The Black Swan”: 2010.
BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for the film “The Black Swan”: 2010. Cinematic Critic Award for Best Actress, for the film “The Black Swan”: 2010.
Critical Award Cinematography for best actress, for the movie “Jackie”: 2016.