'''Natalie Hershlag''' (born June 9, 1981), better known by her stage name, '''Natalie Portman''' (Hebrew :'''נטלי פורטמן'''), is an Israeli-American film actress.
As a young child, Portman spent her school holidays attending theater camps where she developed her love of acting. After some experience in an off-Broadway musical, she was cast in ''
Léon'' at age twelve. During the mid-1990s, Portman had roles in films such as ''
Heat'', ''
Everyone Says I Love You'' and ''
Mars Attacks!'', as well as having a major role in ''
Beautiful Girls''.
In the late 1990s, she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the ''
Star Wars'' prequel trilogy. She placed a priority on her education and pursued tertiary studies at Harvard University even though it had potential to conflict with her acting career. Recent roles include ''
Garden State'', ''
Closer'', and ''
V for Vendetta''. For ''
Closer'', she received a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Biography
Early life
Portman was born in Jerusalem, Israel.
Her father, Avner Hershlag, is an Israeli medical doctor specializing in the research and treatment of human fertility and reproduction (reproductive endocrinology).
Her mother, Shelley Stevens, is a Jewish American housewife who now works as her agent (she is an artist
[ by hobby and not profession). Portman's father's family are descendants of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Romania, while her mother's family were Jewish immigrants from Austria and Russia; her paternal grandfather's parents died in Auschwitz and her Romanian-born great-grandmother was a spy for the British during World War II. ]
Portman's parents met at a Jewish student center at Ohio State University, where Portman's mother was selling tickets. Portman's father returned to Israel, but the two corresponded and were married when Portman's mother visited Israel a few years later. When Portman was three years old, her family moved from Israel to her mother's native United States, where her father pursued his medical training. The family lived in Washington, D.C. in 1984 and then Connecticut in 1988, before finally settling down in Syosset, New York in 1990. Portman has said that although she "really loves the States", her "heart's in Jerusalem. That's where I feel at home."
Early career
Portman started taking dancing lessons at the age of four, performed in local troupes, and dreamed of dancing on Broadway. At the age of
