Natalie Portman: Her Best Roles So Far

American-Israeli actress Natalie Portman was born June 9, 1981 in Jerusalem. When Natalie was still a young girl, her family would move to the United States, and Natalie would begin to study ballet, modern dance, and theater. While she would land her first big role at the age of 12, the actress is more than just beautiful and talented, she would go on to graduate with a degree in Psychology from Harvard University and can speak three languages fluently (English, Japanese, and Hebrew) along with conversational skills in a handful of other languages! 

After getting her start on off-Broadway, Natalie Portman would go on to make her film debut at the age of 12 in action drama Léon: The Professional. Portman's parents almost didn't let her take the part due to significant amounts of nudity and violence in the film, but after the director agreed to cut back the violence from Natalie's character of "Matilda", Natalie was allowed to play the part. 

After making her Broadway debut in 1998's production of The Diary of a Young Girl, Natalie Portman would get the first big role of her adult career in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. The film would go on to become the second highest grossing film of all time that year and thrust a young Natalie into the spotlight! 

After her big break into Hollywood, Natalie would cut back on the number of roles she took on to focus on getting her bachelor's degree from Harvard. After graduating, Portman's first big role of her return to acting would come with 2004's Closer. While she had been hesitant to take on sexual roles in the past, Portman took on the role of a stripper named "Alice" feeling that she had matured enough to take the part on. 

One of our favorite Natalie Portman roles over the years came in 2006 with political thriller V for Vendetta. Natalie really got into character, learning how to speak with a British accent and even shaving her head for the part! Hailed as the best performance of her career to that point, Natalie was honored with a Saturn Award for Best Actress. 

Natalie Portman's career would skyrocket after her performance in V for Vendetta. The actress's next big role would come alongside actress Scarlett Johansson in 2008's The Other Boleyn Girl. While the film wasn't a huge success, Natalie was thrilled to work alongside another actress her own age, and it was one of her favorite roles to play. 

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Making use of both her psychology degree and her ballet training, Natalie Portman shined in 2010's psychological thriller Black Swan. Natalie would work hard to train for the part, and her hard work paid off when she won the Academy Award for Best Actress that year.

After making her directoral debut in 2008 with her short film Eve, Natalie was ready to executive produce 2011 romantic comedy No Strings Attached. Starring alongside Ashton Kutcher, Natalie proved to be just as talented a producer as an actress, and the film was a commercial success!

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One of the roles Natalie Portman has enjoyed the most during her career was that of "Jane Foster" in Marvel's 2011 superhero film Thor. Playing the ever handsome Chris Hemsworth's title characters romantic interest, Natalie was so excited to take on the part that she signed onto the role before even reading the script! 

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One of Natalie Portman's most successful roles to date was as real life First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 2016's biopic Jackie. Following the events after the 1963 assassination of "Jackie's" husband, Natalie put in hours of research to get "Jackie's" charisma and accent to be spot on. Her hard work paid off, and Natalie would win the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress.