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Natalie Portman

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Natalie Portman

Biographical information

Born

June 9,1981^[1]
Jerusalem,Israel^[2]

Nationality

Israeli-American^[2]

Career

Occupation

Actress^[2]

"I think [Padmé] embodies the true meaning of feminism in my understanding of it. It's about having access to all the same things but then making decisions from your particular point of view…[Padmé] has been a leader of many people, but rather than being consumed with the thirst for power…she stays true to her compassion and her belief in democracy and in humanity."

―Natalie Portman, while filming ofRevenge of the Sith in 2003^[3]

Natalie Portman (bornNeta-Lee Hershlag^[4] onJune 9,1981^[1]) portrayedPadmé Amidala in theprequel trilogy. Portman won anAcademy Award for her starring role in the2010 filmBlack Swan and was additionally nominated for her work on the2004 filmCloser and the2016 filmJackie.

Biography[]

"It definitely did come into play how strong and smart a character Carrie Fisher portrayed, because I think that a lot of that is passed on from parent to child. I think George wrote Amidala as a strong, smart character, but it helped to know that I had this great woman before me who had portrayed her character as a fiery woman."

―Natalie Portman^[5]

Natalie Portman was born inJerusalem,Israel,^[2] in1981.^[1] She adopted "Portman"—her maternal grandmother's maiden name—as her stage name in order to protect her family's identity,^[6] and starred in the1994 filmLéon: The Professional and a Broadway production ofThe Diary of Anne Frank. Portman was cast by directorGeorge Lucas for theprequel trilogy;^[2] Beginning in1997, Portman played the role ofQueen Padmé Amidala forStar Wars: Episode IThe Phantom Menace, which was released in1999, when the actress was eighteen years old.^[2]

Keira Knightley was cast as Queen Amidala'shandmaiden Sabé partly due to her resemblance of Natalie Portman; during the filming ofThe Phantom Menace, even their mothers could not tell the two apart when they both appeared with make-up applied.^[7] While Portman studied for herbachelor's degree in psychology atHarvard University, she spent her summer break filming forStar Wars: Episode IIAttack of the Clones, which was released in2002.^[2] She began filming forStar Wars: Episode IIIThe Revenge of the Sith in2003. At the time, she said that her character of Padmé Amidala "embodies the true meaning of feminism" since "it's about having access to all the same things but then making decisions from your particular point of view" and despite the fact Padmé was a leader to her people, she chose to be compassionate and valuedemocracy instead of being consumed by the pursuit for power.^[3] In a2007 interview, Portman said that though she was pleased with herStar Wars work, she had no plans to work with that universe again.^[8] By2023, however, she expressed openness to returning.^[9]^[10]

Works[]

Filmography[]

Year	Title	Contribution(s)	Notes
1999	Star Wars: Episode IThe Phantom Menace	Queen Amidala/Padmé Naberrie^[11]
2002	Star Wars: Episode IIAttack of the Clones	Padmé Amidala,^[12]Cordé^[13]	Uncredited as Cordé;^[12] portrayed Cordé prior to the explosion^[13]
2005	Star Wars: Episode IIIRevenge of the Sith	Padmé Amidala^[14]

Bibliography[]

Year	Title	Format	Contribution(s)
2017	The Phantom Menace Read-Along Storybook and CD	Young reader	Padmé Amidala
2017	Attack of the Clones Read-Along Storybook and CD	Young reader	Padmé Amidala
2017	Revenge of the Sith Read-Along Storybook and CD	Young reader	Padmé Amidala