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Short Biography

Natalie Portman (Hebrew: נטלי פורטמן‎; born Natalie Hershlag June 9, 1981) is an Israeli-American actress. Portman began her career in the early 1990s, turning down the opportunity to become a child model in favor of acting. Her first role came in the 1994 independent film L?on. She became well known when she was cast as Padm? Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Portman, who stated that she would "...rather be smart than be a movie star," completed a bachelor`s degree in psychology at Harvard College while she was working on the Star Wars films.

In 2001, Portman opened in New York City`s Public Theater production of Chekhov`s The Seagull, alongside Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.In 2005, Portman received a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actress in the drama Closer. In May 2008, she served as the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury.

Portman was born Natalie Hershlag (Hebrew: נטלי הרשלג‎) in Jerusalem, Israel. Her father, Avner Hershlag, is an Israeli doctor specializing in fertility and reproduction (reproductive endocrinology). Her mother, Shelley Stevens, is an American homemaker who now works as her agent. Portman`s maternal ancestors were Jews from Austria and Russia and her paternal ancestors were Jews who immigrated to Israel from Poland and Romania. Her paternal grandfather`s parents died in Auschwitz and her Romanian-born great-grandmother was a spy for the British during World War II.

Portman`s parents met at a Jewish student center at Ohio State University where her mother was selling tickets. Her father returned to Israel, but the two corresponded and were married when her mother visited Israel a few years later. In 1984, when Portman was three years old, the family moved from Israel to the United States, where her father pursued his medical training. The family first lived in Washington, D.C., where she attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, but relocated to Connecticut in 1988, and then settled permanently in Long Island, New York, in 1990. Portman has said that although she "really love[s] the States... my heart`s in Jerusalem. That`s where I feel at home." She is an only child and very close to her parents,who are often seen with her at her film premieres.

Portman has been a vegetarian since childhood and is an advocate for animal rights. She does not eat animal products or wear fur, feathers or leather. "All of my shoes are from Target and Stella McCartney", she says. It has been reported that she will appear alongside actress Elissa Sursara in a PETA PSA to support the groups anti-fur campaign at some point throughout 2009. In 2007, Natalie Portman traveled to Rwanda with Jack Hanna, to film a documentary titled Gorillas on the Brink. Later at a naming ceremony, Portman named a baby gorilla Gukina, which means `to play`. In 2007, she launched her own brand of vegan footwear. Portman has been an advocate of environmental causes since childhood, when she joined an environmental song and dance troupe known as World Patrol Kids.

Portman has been involved with the 2004 presidential campaign of Democratic candidate John Kerry and with antipoverty activities. In 2004 and 2005 she traveled to Uganda, Guatemala, and Ecuador as the Ambassador of Hope for FINCA International, an organization that promotes mi