Natalie Portman was born on 9th June 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel,
as the only child of a doctor father and an artist mother, who
also acts as Natalie's agent. She left Israel for Washington, DC,
when she was still very young. After a few more moves, her family
finally settled in New York, where she lived until her graduation
from high school. 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 Léon (1994) (aka "The Professional"). 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).
Afterwards, she starred in two critically acclaimed comedy dramas,
Anywhere But Here (1999), Where the Heart Is (2000), and Closer
(2004/I), for which she received an Oscar nomination.