An actress with a talent beyond her years, Natalie Portman has established herself as one of Hollywood’s most talented and sought after young actresses.
She was born in Jerusalem, Israel, to her artist (housewife) mother and fertility specialist father (per Letterman Interview), Portman caught the acting bug after her parents relocated to New York during her childhood. An agent contacted Portman at age 11 and she quickly earned plum acting roles on stage and in film.

Portman made her Broadway debut run in the title role of The Diary of Anne Frank. Directed by James Lapine and adapted by Wendy Kesselman, the production took a fresh look at the play, incorporating new material from The 1995 Definitive Edition of Anne Frank’s diaries.

But she received international acclaim for her feature debut in Luc Besson’s The Professional. Starring opposite Jean Reno and Gary Oldman, Portman plays Mathilde, a young girl who seeks refuge from a hitman after her parents are killed by a corrupt DEA officer. Her performance was hailed by critics and she received a “Best Actress in a Drama” for The Hollywood Reporter-sponsored YoungStar Awards.

Portman continued to impress audiences with her movie-stealing performance in the Miramax film, Beautiful Girls (1996). Directed by the late Ted Demme, the bittersweet comedy also starred Timothy Hutton, Uma Thurman, Rosie O’Donnell, and Matt Dillon.

Other feature credits soon followed for Portman including Michael Mann’s Heat (1995), Woody Allen musical Everyone Says I Love You (1996), and Tim Burton’s black comedy called Mars Attacks! (1996).

Next Portman would become famous worldwide in her role as Padme Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, which she would continue throughout the prequels — Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (2005).

Other notable film credits include Anywhere But Here (1999), Where the Heart Is (2000), Cold Mountain (2003), Garden State (2004) and Closer (2004) — which earned her an Oscar nomination.

In addition to her acting accolades, Portman graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard University in 2003.

Tags: Star Wars, Natalie Portman, Padme Amidala, Garden State, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith