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Natalie Hershlag better known by her stage name, Natalie Portman, was born on June 9, 1981 in Jerusalem. When Portman was 3 years old her family moved to her mothers native country the U.S.  She began taking dancing courses when she was 4 and by the age of 12 she was offered an opportunity to be a Model. By 13 she was attending upscale theatre camps, and was soon offered her first role in a Luc Besson film titled Leon (aka The Professional). Soon after she was cast in a small role in the big budget film, Heat, starring some of the biggest names in Hollywood.  In 1996, when she was just 16, she was contacted about playing a lead role in the Star Wars prequel movies. This was a huge decision which would affect the rest of her career, but after meeting with the Director and Producer she agreed and quickly became a household name.

Portman decided that she didn’t want her acting career to interfere with her education and in 2003 she had graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelors degree in Psychology.

Since a young age Portman has held strong socially and environmentally conscious beliefs. She is a self proclaimed animal lover and has been a vegetarian since the age of 8 years old. She has been involved with supporting Democratic political campaigns and ending poverty. She has also traveled to places such as Uganda, Guatemala and Ecuador as an Ambassador of Hope for the FINCA International, a organization to help finance women-owned business in poor countries.

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