Natalie Portman

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Senator Padme was born on June 9, 1981 in Jerusalem, Israel as Natalie Hershlag. (I bet there is an umlaut in that last name.)

It is a very rare person who has The Looks, The Brains and The...well, conviction of her ideals in one package. Natalie Portman (Hershlag) is that person

Genius.

• Can speak two languages, Hebrew and English (her native languages), fluently. Also knows some conversational French, German, and Japanese and Spanish.
• Learned how to play the piano and conduct for Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007).
• Learned how ballet for Black Swan (2010).
• Took diving courses in Eilat, Israel. Diving is one of her favorite hobbies.
• Is one of eight actresses to have won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same performance. The others in chronological order are Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich (2000), Renée Zellweger for Cold Mountain (2003), Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005), Helen Mirren for The Queen (2006), Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006), Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008) and Mo'Nique for Precious (2009).
• She entered a project into the Intel Science Talent Search in the late 1990's while at Syosset High School. Her project, titled "A Simple Method to Demonstrate the Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen from Sugar," took her to the semi-finals of the Intel contest. She graduated Valedictorian of Syosset High School in 1999 and went on to study Psychology and Neuroscience at Harvard University, graduating in 2003.

Hero.

• In January 2011, she became the new face of Dior in the Miss Dior Cherie ad campaign. On February 27, 2011, a video of top Dior designer, John Galliano, going on an anti-Semitic rant in Paris surfaced online. Portman released a statement condemning Galliano's actions, specifying she was "shocked and disgusted," and as a proud Jewish woman refused to associate herself with him from that point on. Since the Miss Dior Cherie ad campaign was set to officially launch two days after the video surfaced, Dior was forced to take legal action to work out a settlement in order to keep Portman as a spokesperson. Galliano was fired on March 1, 2011 and the ad campaign launched as originally planned.

Beauty.

Natalie is 5' 3" [1.60 m] tall and her IMdb bio states:

Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem, the only child of a doctor father (from Israel) and an artist mother (from Cincinnati, Ohio), who also acts as Natalie's agent. She left Israel for Washington, D.C., when she was still very young. After a few more moves, her family finally settled in New York, where she still lives to this day. She graduated with honors, and her academic achievements allowed her to attend Harvard.

She was discovered by an agent in a pizza parlor at the age of 11. She was pushed towards a career in modeling but she decided that she would rather pursue a career in acting. She was featured in many live performances, but she made her powerful film debut in the movie Leon: The Professional (1994) (aka "Léon"). Following this role Natalie won roles in such films as Heat (1995), Beautiful Girls (1996), and Mars Attacks! (1996).

It wasn't until 1999 that Natalie received worldwide fame as Queen Amidala in the highly anticipated US$431 million-grossing prequel Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). She then she starred in two critically acclaimed comedy dramas, Anywhere But Here (1999) and Where the Heart Is (2000), followed by Closer (2004/I), for which she received an Oscar nomination.

Graduated from Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2003 with a Artium Baccalaureus degree in Psychology. As a young girl, she was an understudy for the lead character in the off-Broadway show, "Ruthless," alongside Britney Spears. They still keep in touch, and recently threw a party together in New York City.

Coincidences?

• Both she and Sofia Coppola have played the daughter of a character played by Al Pacino, and also both appeared in a film featuring Pacino and Robert De Niro. Sofia Coppola was in all three Godfather films (though she had only an uncredited part in the 2nd), and Portman was in Heat (1995). Portman and Coppola appeared together in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).
• She spoofed her role in Star Wars before becoming involved in the series. In Mars Attacks! (1996), she gives a medal to Lukas Haas in a scene resembling the award ceremony at the end of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). The medals were given out by Princess Leia, the daughter of Portman's future character, Queen Amidala. In addition, the recipients of those medals, Haas and Harrison Ford, appeared together in Witness (1985).
• She has worked with two Draculas as well as two Frankenstein monsters. In Leon: The Professional (1994), she worked with Gary Oldman, who played Dracula for Francis Ford Coppola. In Heat (1995), she appeared with Robert De Niro, who played The Creature for Kenneth Branagh. In Star Wars, she works with Christopher Lee, who played both roles for Hammer studios.
• Bears a striking resemblance to Keira Knightley. Knightley played Sabé, the Queen's decoy, in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). When in makeup, not even the mothers of the actresses could tell them apart.

What???

• Before she was cast in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), she had never seen the original Star Wars trilogy. She admitted to James Lipton on "Inside the Actor's Studio" in 2004 that before being cast she didn't know the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek.

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Find more Natalie stuff here.

Find more Natalie stuff here.