Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag (Hebrew: נטלי הרשלג; born June 9, 1981), better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
In 1999, she enrolled at Harvard University to study psychology while still working as an actress.
She completed her bachelor's degree in 2003.
In 2001, Portman opened in New York City's Public Theater production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.
In 2005, Portman received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for the drama Closer. She shaved her head and learned to speak with a British accent for her starring role in V for Vendetta (2006), for which she won a Constellation Award for Best Female Performance, and a Saturn Award for Best Actress. She played leading roles in the historical dramas Goya's Ghosts (2006) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). In May 2008, she served as the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury.
Portman's directorial debut, Eve, opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival's shorts competition in 2008.
In 2011, Portman won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, and the BAFTA Award for her lead performance as Nina in Black Swan.
“I think it's a great honor to win an Oscar but I think if you aim to be rewarded in your life you'll get nowhere. I think that the biggest reward is the work itself and what you get out of it and the connections you make with other people.”
“Smart women love smart men more than smart men love smart women.”
“They tell me: 'OK, this is where we're going to push up your cleavage,' and I'm like, 'What cleavage?”
“I'm always on the phone because I'm usually not with the people I want to be with.”
“Cute is when your personality shines through your looks. Like, when you see someone's personality in the way they walk and you just feel like hugging them every time you see them.”
“Lying is the most fun a woman can have without taking her clothes off.”
“I studied psychology in school, and the best psychology is in literature. It's so much easier to understand a character than a theory. You can recognize yourself—or other people—in a different way.”
“I don't love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful.”