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Image: Natalie Portman

Fall

Natalie Portman

Child star, Harvard grad, “Star Wars” queen and bona fide movie star with an Oscar.

/ 27 PHOTOS

Straight arrow

Portman plays a warrior princess in 2011's "Your Highness," starring alongside James Franco and Danny McBride. The film has been called "a medieval stoner comedy."

Image: Natalie Portman

Megawatt smile

Portman arrives at the premiere of "No Strings Attached" in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011. The film received mediocre reviews but did better than expected at the box office.

Matt Sayles / AP
Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher in No Strings Attached.

Mismatched couple?

In 2011 comedy "No Strings Attached," Portman plays a doctor who tries to keep her relationship with Ashton Kutcher purely physical. The film topped the box office on its debut weekend, beating Seth Rogen's "The Green Hornet."

Image: 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Show

He does want to sleep with me

While accepting her best actress Golden Globe for "Black Swan," Portman thanked Millepied, who plays a small role in the film as a dancer with no sexual interest in the neurotic Nina. "It's not true! He totally wants to sleep with me!" she said. Her nervous laugh after delivering the joke was repeated and drawn out into a viral video that quickly made the rounds on the Internet.

Handout / Getty Images North America
Image: 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals

Parents to be

Portman and Millepied arrive at the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 16, 2011 in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was born in France and raised in Senegal, beginning ballet training at age 8 with his mother, herself a ballet dancer. He reportedly left the ballerina with whom he was living when he and Portman fell in love on "Black Swan."

Jason Merritt / Getty Images North America
Image: 16th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards - Arrivals

Beauty in black and white

Natalie Portman won the best actress award at the Critics' Choice Awards on Jan. 14, 2011 in Los Angeles. She thanked "Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky, joking "You made me very skinny and you ... made me fat," referring to the workouts she took on for the role and to her eventual pregnancy with and engagement to choreographer Benjamin Millepied.

Jason Merritt / Getty Images North America
Image: Publicity photo of actress Natalie Portman in a scene from the Oscar nominated film \"Black Swan\"

Dark side

In 2010's "Black Swan," Portman plays nervous and naive ballerina Nina, who can play "Swan Lake's" innocent white swan easily, but struggles to understand the role of the sensual black swan.

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FINCA 25th Anniversary Creating Pathways Out of Poverty Event

Bringing hope to the world

Portman speaks at the 25th anniversary of the Foundation for International Community Assistance in November 2010. She is an ambassador of hope for the group, which promotes the use of micro-finance to provide financial services to the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs. Portman has visited FINCA programs in Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Uganda and often speaks on its behalf.

Joe Corrigan / Getty Images North America
Thirty-something Captain Sam Cahill and his younger brother Tommy Cahill, are polar opposites. A Marine about to embark on his fourth tour of duty, Sam is a steadfast family man married to his high school sweetheart, the aptly named Grace, with whom he has two young daughters. Tommy, his charismatic younger brother, is a drifter just out of jail who's always gotten by on wit and charm. He slides easily into his role as family provocateur on his first night out of prison, at Sam's farewell dinner with their parents, Elsie and Hank Cahill, a retired Marine. Shipped out to Afghanistan, Sam is presumed dead when his Black Hawk helicopter is shot down in the mountains. At home in suburbia, the Cahill family suddenly faces a shocking void, and Tommy tries to fill in for his brother by assuming newfound responsibility for himself, Grace, and the children.

War story

In 2009's "Brothers," Portman plays a mom and wife who's suddenly left a widow, or so she believes. But her husband, played by Tobey Maguire, makes an unexpected return, only to find that his brother (Jake Gyllenhaal) has fallen for Portman's character.

Image: 81st Annual Academy Awards - Show

Giving out the gold

Ben Stiller, dressed as Joaquin Phoenix, presented an award with Portman at the 2009 Academy Awards.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images North America
Natalie Portman în New York, I Love You (2009) ew York, I Love You is a collective work of eleven short films, with each segment running around 10 minutes long. Some of the actors have international status (Natalie Portman, Shia LaBeouf, Hayden Christensen, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, Ugur Yücel, Irrfan Khan, James Caan, and Christina Ricci) with each shooting their part in one of New York's five boroughs. Similar to the previous film, Paris, je t'aime, the shorts presented together may interweave slightly; however, they will all tie into the common theme of finding love. New York, I Love You is the second episode of the Cities of Love franchise created and produced by Emmanuel Benbihy.

The city that never sleeps

In 2009, Portman starred in "New York, I Love You," a collective work of 11 short films about the city. It's the second in a series called the "Cities of Love" franchise. 2006's "Paris, je t'aime" was the first.

Te Casan Vegan Footwear Collection Launch Party

Putting her best foot forward

Portman was a vegetarian since childhood and became a vegan in 2009, reportedly after reading Jonathan Safran Foer's book, "Eating Animals." The year before that, she launched a line of vegan footwear, seen here.

Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images North America
Natalie Portman and  Scarlett Johansson in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) Based on a novel by Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl revolves around the ferociously ambitious Boleyn sisters, Mary (Johansson) and Anne (Portman), who are rivals for the bed and heart of 16th century English King Henry VIII (Eric Bana).

Losing her head

Portman played the famous Anne Boleyn and Scarlett Johansson her lesser-known sister Mary in 2008's "The Other Boleyn Girl," based on Philippa Gregory's novel.

My Blueberry Nights (2008) After a rough break-up, Elizabeth sets out on a journey across America, leaving behind a life of memories, a dream and a soulful new friend; a cafe owner--all while in search of something to mend her broken heart. Waitressing her way through the country, Elizabeth befriends others whose yearnings are greater than hers, including a troubled cop and his estranged wife and a down-on-her luck gambler with a score to settle. Through these individuals, Elizabeth witnesses the true depths of loneliness and emptiness, and begins to understand that her own journey is part of a greater exploration within herself.

Bluer than blue

In 2007, Portman starred with Norah Jones in "My Blueberry Nights," the first English feature film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai. Portman plays a poker player who's lost all her money gambling.

Going ape

In 2007, Portman teamed up with wildlife expert Jack Hanna to make "Gorillas on the Brink," a TV special about the plight of gorillas in Rwanda.

Goya's Ghosts (2007)Spain 1792 - the Catholic Church is at the height of its powers. The revolution has sent neighbouring France into turmoil and the Spanish church decides to restore order by bringing back the dreaded Inquisition. Spearheading this movement is the enigmatic and cunning priest Lorenzo, a man who seeks power above all.

Double role

Portman plays two characters in 2007's "Goya's Ghosts," set in Spain in the 1700s. She portrays both a young model and her lookalike, a prostitute.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) is the strangest, most fantastic, most wonderful toy store in the world. In fact, it's a magic toy store and everything in it comes to life--including the store itself. The emporium asks only one thing of its customers--you must believe it to see it.

World of 'Wonder'

Portman plays an employee in a magical toy store run by Dustin Hoffman in 2007's "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium." She told the press she was excited to make a movie for children.

SNL Digital Short: Natalie Raps 
When an interviewer asks, \"What's a day in the life of the real Natalie Portman like?\", Natalie Portman busts out rymes about her hard core gansta rap lifestyle.

An SNL Digital Short featuring Andy Samberg, Chris Parnell and Seth Meyers.

Rap it up

In 2006, Portman spoofed herself in an SNL Digital Short on "Saturday Night Live." She turns her good-girl image on its ear by playing herself as an angry gangsta rapper, saying when she was at Harvard she did drugs constantly and cheated on every test.

Hulu.com: Natalie Portman raps on "SNL."

Who needs hair?

Portman wasn't afraid to shave her head for 2006's "V for Vendetta," an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name. Her character joins an underground anti-government group. Jerusalem-born Portman has been quoted as saying "being from Israel was a reason I wanted to do this because terrorism and violence are such a daily part of my conversations since I was little."

Natalie Portman (L) and Clive Owen in Closer (2004)

Academy Award-winning director Mike Nichols follows the triumphant Angels in America with Closer. A bitingly funny and honest look at modern relationships, Closer is the story of four strangers (Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen) -- their chance meetings, instant attractions and casual betrayals.

Close to you

Portman and Clive Owen starred in 2004's "Closer," often mentioned as one of the actress' best films. Both Owen and Portman were nominated for supporting-acting Oscars for their roles. Neither won, but they did win Golden Globes.

\"Garden State\" New York Premiere - Outside Arrivals

Smile for the cameras

Portman poses for pictures during the New York premiere of "Garden State" in 2004.

Stephen Lovekin / FilmMagic
From left: Peter Sarsgaard,Natalie Portman and Zach Braff in Garden State (2003)

'Garden State'

Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, left, and Zach Braff, right, starred in 2004's "Garden State." Portman's character was an epileptic and a pathological liar. Braff wrote and directed the film, which had only a limited release in theaters but gained more attention on DVD.

Where The Heart Is (2000) A bathroom stop en route, at an Oklahoma Wal-Mart, changes Novalee's life forever. For when she leaves the store, she discovers that Willy Jack and the Plymouth are gone. Only her Polaroid camera remains in the parking space. 

Alone and broke, Novalee surreptitiously moves into the vast store, borrowing food and supplies from its shelves. When she gives birth on the floor - and her hideaway is revealed - Novalee and her Wal-Mart Baby become instant celebrities. More importantly, over the next few years, Novalee finally becomes part of an unconventional, makeshift family comprised of her wonderfully eccentric new friends.

Giving birth at Wal-Mart

Portman starred in the 2000 film "Where the Heart Is," based on the best-selling Billie Letts novel. She plays Novalee Nation, who is abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart and decides to live there, even giving birth to her baby in the store.

Natalie Portman in Twentieth Century Fox's action movie Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - 1999

Luke, I am your mother

Portman gained real fame in 1999 when she played Queen Padme Amidala in the first of the three "Star Wars" prequels, "The Phantom Menace." Her marriage to Anakin Skywalker, who later becomes Darth Vader, produces twins Luke and Leia, but she dies giving birth to them.

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, Timothy Hutton, Natalie Portman, 1996, happy

You are so 'Beautiful'

In 1996's "Beautiful Girls," Portman plays a young girl who describes herself as "an old soul." Matt Dillon, Timothy Hutton and Rosie O'Donnell also star.

EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU

Working with Woody Allen

Portman also had a role in the 1996 Woody Allen film "Everyone Says I Love You."

Rights Managed
Leon the Professional (1994)

Getting her start

Natalie Portman was just 13 when she made her feature film debut, as a child who befriends a middle-aged hitman (Jean Reno) in 1994's "Leon: The Professional." Born Natalie Hershlag, she took her grandmother's maiden name, Portman, for her stage name.

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