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Natalie Portman Biography
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At 4 years old, Natalie Portman started attending dance lessons and performing in troupes. She knew what she wanted, even if an agent for Revlon asked her to become a model, the 12-year-old Natalie Portman declined and asked to be introduced to acting agents instead. She even attended several theater camps, including Usdan Camp and Stagedoor Manor, during her vacations from school.
In 1994, Natalie Portman won a role in the Luc Besson film, “Leon” after auditioning several times until she won the part. After winning the part, Natalie used her grandmother’s maiden name Portman as her stage name. The film launched in November 18, 1994, when Natalie Portman was only 13 years old.
After her debut film, she appeared in several movies, including “Heat, Everyone Says I Love You”, “Mars Attacks!” and “Beautiful Girls”. She also portrayed the role of Anne Frank in a Broadway production, “The Diary of Anne Frank”.
Natalie Portman was offered the lead role in “Anywhere but Here”. She refused the part when she learned about a sex scene. Susan Sarandon and director Wayne Wang asked for a film rewrite, which led to Portman accepting the part. After its launch in 1999, Natalie Portman received her first Golden Globe nomination for “Best Supporting Actress”.
It was during the late 90s that Natalie Portman received her biggest break, when she landed the role as Padme Amidala in the “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”. The film received an outstanding audience, making it the highest grossing film of 1999. Due to Portman’s success in Star Wars, she appeared in a critically acclaimed play, “Where the Heart Is”.
Upon completing the production of “Where the Heart Is”, Natalie Portman pursued a degree in psychology at Harvard University. She stayed in the dorms, promising that she will not accept any other acting jobs, aside from the Star Wars prequels, to focus on studying. In 2003, she graduated and picked up where she left in Hollywood. Natalie Portman also attended graduate studies at Hebrew University, Jerusalem in 2005. She is fluent in French, Hebrew, Japanese, German, English and recently learning, Arabic.
In 2004, Natalie Portman accepted two independent movies – “Closer” and “Garden State”, which won the “Best First Feature” at the Independent Spirit Awards. On the other hand, “Closer” earned Portman a Supporting Actress Award at the Golden Globe and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Other film credits include “Free Zone”, “V for Vendetta” and “Goya’s Ghosts”. Her recent works include “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” and “The Other Boleyn Girl”.
