Fact Sheet:

Birth Name: Natalie Hershlag
Birthdate: June 9, 1981
Birthplace: Jerusalem, Israel
Occupations: Actress, Model
Quote: "I'm going to college. I don't care if it ruins my career. I'd rather be smart than a movie star." --USA Today, November 1994
Claim to Fame: Breakthrough performance as 12-year-old assassin apprentice Mathilde opposite Jean Reno in The Professional (1994)
Significant Other(s): Lukas Haas, actor; dated September 1999; no longer together
Father: Physician
Mother: Artist
Factoids: Discovered by a modeling agent in a New York pizza parlor at age 11
Plays the young Queen Amidala in George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace (1999) and upcoming installments
Education: Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts; majoring in Psychology
Syosset High School, Syosset, New York
Contact: Natalie Portman
c/o International Creative Management
8942 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Biography: An actress with a talent and poise beyond her years, Natalie Portman has established herself as one of Hollywood's most talented and sought after young actresses.
Portman has just completed her Broadway debut run in the title role of The Diary of Anne Frank. Directed by James Lapine and adapted by Wendy Kesselman, the production took a fresh look at the play, incorporating new material from The 1995 Definitive Edition of Anne Frank's diaries.
Portman received international acclaim for her feature debut in Luc Besson's The Professional. Starring opposite Jean Reno and Gary Oldman, Portman plays Mathilde, a young girl who seeks refuge from a hitman after her parents are killed by a corrupt DEA officer. Her performance was hailed by critics and received a "Best Actress in a Drama" for The Hollywood Reporter-sponsored YoungStar Awards.
Portman received critical acclaim for her movie-stealing performance in the Miramax film, Beautiful Girls. Directed by Ted Demme, the bittersweet comedy also starred Timothy Hutton, Uma Thurman, Rosie O'Donnell, and Matt Dillon.
Other feature credits for Portman include appearing in the Woody Allen musical, Everyone Says I Love You, co-starring Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn, Alan Alda and Drew Barrymore, Tim Burton's black comedy, Mars Attacks! with Jack Nicholson and Glenn Close, and Michael Mann's Heat with Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and Val Kilmer.
Raised on the East coast, Portman is an honors student who enjoys writing, dancing and spending time with her friends.