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Natalie Portman Biography

Page history last edited by Rebecca Holdowsky 14 years, 2 months ago

               Mr. Coyle                                                                                                        Rebecca Holdowsky

3rd period                                                                                                         11/28/09

First Draft:  Natalie Portman Biography

On June 9th, 1981 in Jerusalem, Israel, Anver, a fertility specialist and Shelly, an artist had their first and only child, named Natalie Hershlag.  Natalie later changed her name to Natalie Portman after her grandmother because she wanted to avoid any interference with school and her private life.  Her grandfather was a Polish Jew and socialist.  When he was young, he helped plan and create the first kibbutzim which were special camps that taught agriculture to young men who were moving to Israel.  When Natalie was three, she and her family moved to Washington D.C and lived there for four years. Next, they moved to Connecticut where she lived there for two years, and then they finally moved to Long Island, New York.  When Natalie was eleven, she was extremely lucky to be at Mario’s pizza joint because a Revlon model scout spotted her and that started her career.

          Instead of being a model, Natalie decided that she wanted to pursue a career in acting.  She later auditioned for the movie “Leon” directed by Luc Besson.  Originally, she didn’t get the part because she was too young, but Luc saw something in Natalie and gave it to her.  Natalie played a girl named Mathilda and she did a superb job.  She got spectacular reviews and the director even said that he will only direct a sequel if Natalie Portman agrees to star.  Unfortunately, her classmates' opinions differed.  They didn’t like having a movie star as a classmate and they made Natalie’s life miserable.

          The next film Natalie was in was “Heat” directed by Michael Mann.  She played Laura Henna who was the daughter of a crook played by Robert De Niro.  Then, she was in Ted Demme’s “Beautiful Girls.”  After, “Beautiful Girls”, Natalie was in “Everyone says I Love You” directed by Woody Allen.  Next, she was in the movie Mars Attacks” directed by Tim Burton, where she plays, Tuffy, a perky, bright daughter.

          Natalie thought of herself as a positive role model for girls because she didn’t smoke, drink, or do drugs.  Also, she chose not to act in movies where she had to act sexually because she wasn’t even sixteen yet.  She even said that she would like having herself as a daughter because she thinks of herself as a “Nice, smart, witty, and trustworthy person.”   Instead of doing another movie, Natalie decided it was time to do something different.  In the summer of 1996, she starred as Anne Frank in the “Diary of Anne Frank” on Broadway.

          In 1999, Natalie was going to graduate from Syosset High School, in Long Island.  And in the same year, she accomplished her biggest role yet.  She played Queen Amidala in “Star Wars:  Episode l-The Phantom Menace” and she did a marvelous job.  Unfortunately, Natalie was not able to attend the massive New York premiere because she had to study for final exams.  Natalie was a very smart teenager and graduated with honors.

          After “Star Wars”, Natalie starred in two more movies, “Anywhere But Here” and “Where the Heart Is.”  After these two movies, she decided it was time to go to college.  Natalie told the public that “She doesn’t care if college ruins her acting career, she would rather be smart than a movie star.”  Natalie wanted to go to college on the east coast so in 2000 she was accepted and went off to Harvard to study psychology.  She also took preliminary classes in advanced Hebrew, chemistry, War and Peace, and expository writing.  She can speak Hebrew and English fluently, including French, germane, Japanese, and Spanish.  She determined that she would not act while she was at Harvard, except the Star Wars saga because she had a contract.  Although, in the summer of 2001, she played Nina in "The Seagull."  After “Star Wars:  Episode ll-Attack of the Clones” was made, Natalie was one of the most well-known faces in the world.

          In June, 2003, Natalie graduated from Harvard with a degree in psychology, and then she was in another excellent movie; “Cold Mountain.”   After “Cold Mountain”, she starred in “Garden State” which turned out to be a very popular movie.  It made 25 million dollars at the US box office.  In 2004, she starred in “Closer”, and she too did a splendid job.  She acted so well that she won a golden globe and was nominated for an Oscar.  In September 2004, she also began a course of studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

          Natalie also volunteered and was a spokesperson for the Foundation for International Community Assistance, FINCA.  FINCA helps women in Third world countries establish a banking system that offers constructive loans that are at a very low interest.  She visited projects created in Guatemala and Uganda.

          “Star Wars: Episode lll-Revenge of the Sith” gave Natalie worldwide fame because Star Wars’ fans created groups, conventions, and there were multiple DVD box-sets sold world-wide.  Now Natalie Portman is one of the best known names throughout the world.     

 

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