With only a handful of films under her belt,
Natalie Portman is already a rising star. Of course, when one of
those movies is one of the most anticipated films of the century,
and you are playing the fictional mother of two world famous
icons, it is slightly less of a surprise to find Natalie Portman’s
star rising faster than an X-Wing at lightspeed.
Portman was born in Israel, on June 9th, 1981. She and her family
soon moved to the U.S., first to Maryland at age three, then to
Connecticut at age seven, and then finally to Long Island. The
daughter of a doctor father and an artist mother, Portman took
after her mother. From a young age, she had a longing to express
herself. Her break came one day when she was discovered at a
pizza parlor in New York. Only 11 years old at the time, she was
approached by a representative from Revlon, and not long
afterward she was appearing in their ads. Still, modeling was not
quite what the young Portman wanted; she really wanted to be an
actress.
With the support of the agency, Natalie embarked on her quest to
become a movie star. She made her debut in 1994's The
Professional, with Jean Reno and Gary Oldman. She followed that
up with small roles in Heat and Everyone Says I Love You, before
really catching the attention of audiences in Beautiful Girls.
However, it is her role in the Star Wars Prequel, The Phantom
Menace and its two sequels which assures her newfound star power.
Playing Queen Amidala, the mother of twins Luke Skywalker and
Princess Leia, is a big career boost, and is introducing the
young star to a whole new audience.
SeD 2001