Israeli-American actresses Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman (born June 9, 1981) is an Israeli-American List of notable actresses. 'Portman' is a stage name that she uses instead of Hershlag, her real last name (Portman was her grandmother's maiden name).

She was born in Jerusalem but her family soon relocated to Maryland, then Connecticut, before finally settling down in Long Island, New York. She was discovered in a pizza parlor at the age of eleven by an agent for Revlon, who wanted her to model. After being introduced to acting agents, she made her movie début at the age of twelve, playing a child who befriends a much older assassin in Luc Besson's Léon.

Portman went on to charm critics and viewers alike in Beautiful Girls, and played a minor part in Everyone Says I Love You. She is best known for her role as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequels, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and the upcoming Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. She also played herself in one scene of the 2001 Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander.

Portman is noted for portraying fictional characters that are unusually smart, mature, and/or grown-up for their age.

Portman recently graduated from Harvard University with a degree in psychology. She has always said that she thought education essential, and never considered not going to university. To make time for family and studies, she gets involved in few film projects. She also utilises her free time to get involved in causes she believes to be important, such as financing small-scale women's projects in Africa and the United States Democrats' John Kerry presidential campaign, 2004 presidential campaign in the U.S.

Portman has been a vegetarian since she was eight years old. (Source: Wikipedia)