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Portman was born in Jerusalem, Israel.[1] Her father, Avner Hershlag, is an Israeli medical doctor specializing in t
http://nataliefan.wordpress.com/
Portman was born in Jerusalem, Israel.[1] Her father, Avner Hershlag, is an Israeli medical doctor specializing in the research and treatment of human fertility and reproduction (reproductive endocrinology).[2][3] Her mother, Shelley Stevens, is a Jewish American housewife who now works as her agent (she is an artist[2] by hobby and not profession). Portman's father's family members are descendants of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Romania, while her mother's family members were Jewish immigrants from Austria and Russia; her paternal grandfather's parents died in Auschwitz and her Romanian-born great-grandmother was a spy for the British during World War II. [4]
Portman's parents met at a Jewish student center at the Ohio State University, where Portman's mother was selling tickets. Portman's father returned to Israel, but the two corresponded and were married when Portman's mother visited Israel a few years later. When Portman was three years old, her family moved from Israel to her mother's native United States, where her father pursued his medical training. The family lived in Washington, D.C. in 1984 and then Connecticut in 1988, before finally settling down in Syosset, New York in 1990. Portman has said that although she "really love[s] the States," her "heart's in Jerusalem. That's where I feel at home."[4] Portman is an only child and very close to her parents, who are often seen with her at her film premieres; her mother always accompanied pre-adult Portman to filming locations.
Portman started taking dancing lessons at the age of four, performed in local troupes, and dreamed of dancing on Broadway. At the age of twelve Portman was discovered in a pizza parlor by an agent for Revlon, who offered her an opportunity to model. She asked to be introduced to acting talent scouts, and took "Portman", her grandmother's maiden name, as her professional stage surname.
Starting at age 13, Portman spent her school holidays attending upscale theater camps Stagedoor Manor and Usdan Camp, where she forged her love for acting, playing roles in the camp productions such as the title character in Anne of Green Gables, Dream Laurey in Oklahoma! and Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream. In 1993 Portman was handed her first professional role as an understudy for the off-Broadway musical Ruthless!.
Her inaugural experience in professional theater led her to audition for Luc Besson's 1994 film Léon (aka The Professional). She was initially turned down for the role due to her youth, but further auditioning won her the part. Soon after Portman was given the part, she took Portman as her stage name in the interest of privacy. In the film, Portman plays an orphaned girl who befriends a much older assassin. Léon opened on November 18, 1994 and marked her feature film debut at age twelve. That same year she appeared in the short film Developing which aired on television.
She was cast in the high-budget action film Heat. Although she had a small role, she starred alongside some of the industry's biggest names such as Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer. Following the success of Léon, Portman had gained considerable fame for her performance and was approached for the role of Marty in Ted Demme's Beautiful Girls. Following an audition, she was cast in Woody Allen's comedy-musical Everyone Says I Love You. She was also given a role in Tim Burton's famously star-studded Mars Attacks!. She was the first choice to play Juliet in the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, but turned it down because of the adult content and the age difference between her and Leonardo DiCaprio.
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Designer and entertainer Isaac Mizrahi hosts a unique kind of talk show on The Oxygen Network where he and his favorite celebrities do the most offbea
Designer and entertainer Isaac Mizrahi hosts a unique kind of talk show on The Oxygen Network where he and his favorite celebrities do the most offbeat things. Superstar Natalie Portman comes by Isaac's studio to help give his dog Harry a much needed bath.
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Segment 1: Bill Sammon of The Washington Examiner discusses his new book, "Strategery: How George W. Bush is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting De
Segment 1: Bill Sammon of The Washington Examiner discusses his new book, "Strategery: How George W. Bush is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media"
Segment 2: Actress Natalie Portman talks about her new film, "V For Vendetta"
Segment 3: Tom Perkins, co-founder of the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers talks about his first book, "Sex and the Single Zillionaire"
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