When Natalie Portman was 3 years old, her mother, an artist, and father, a gynocologist, moved from Jerusalem to the United States. She is an only child, and perhaps it's for this reason she has such a close relationship with her parents. She herself is quoted as saying, "The best part about being friends with your parents is that no matter what you do, they always love you."
      Praised by Harpers and Queen magazines as "the new Audrey Hepburn", the slim, wholesome beauty had a taste for entertaining from the age of 4 when she began taking dance lessons; something she continues with today. She graduated from Syosset High School, Syosset, NY, where her favorite subject was math because as she says, "There's always an answer."
      Natalie first became interested in acting after spending three summers at the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Camp in '94 to '95 where she was played the title role of Anne in Anne of Green Gables in 1994 and another part in the production of Tapestry. Her transisiton to film came when she was discovered in a Pizza parlour. Since then Natalie Portman has established herself as one of Hollywood's most talented and sought-after young actresses.
      Portman recently was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Anywhere But Here. She also starred last year as Queen Amidala in George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. In 1998, Portman completed her Broadway debut run in the title role of The Diary of Anne Frank. She also received international acclaim for her feature debut in Luc Besson's The Professional. Interestingly, she was first turned down for the role because she was too young. From there she went on to steal the spotlight when she received critical acclaim for her performance in the film Beautiful Girls.
      Natalie can speak fleuent Hebrew, French, and Japanese. She has been a strict vegetarian since the age of 8, and is a big fan of the show Friends. Her favorite actor is Ben Kingsley. She is currently studying psychology at Harvard, and reports are that she may plan to make that her career of choice.
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Bio taken from several sources. - [Please let us know of any errors]