Portman was born Natalie Hershlag (Hebrew: נטלי הרשלג‎) in Jerusalem, Israel.^[5][6] Her father, Avner Hershlag, is an Israeli doctor specializing in fertility and reproduction (reproductive endocrinology).^[7][8] Her mother, Shelley Stevens, is an American homemaker who now works as her agent.^[7] Portman's "nathalie portman" breast 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.^[9]

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.^[1] Portman has said that although she "really love[s] the States... my heart's in Jerusalem. That's where I feel at home."^[9] She is an only child and very close to her parents,^{Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium offical webpage id="cite_ref-actors_0-3" class="reference">[1]} who are often seen with her at her film premieres.

Although she says her family was not religious,^[10] Portman attended a Jewish elementary school, the Solomon Schechter "nathalie portman" breast Day School of Glen Cove, New York. She graduated from a public high school, Syosset High School.^[1] Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Episode I so she could study for her high school final exams.^[11]

As a student, Portman co-authored two research papers that were published in professional scientific journals. Her 1998 high school paper on the "Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen" was entered in the Intel Science Talent Search.^[20] In 2002, she contributed to a study on memory called "Frontal Lobe Activation During Object Permanence" during her psychology studies at Harvard.^[21] Due to her scientific publications, Portman is among a very small number of professional actors with a defined Erdős–Bacon number.^[22]^{Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium offical webpage class="reference">[21]}^{[23][24][25][26][27]}

During the mid-1990s, Portman had roles in the films Heat, Everyone Says I Love You, and Mars Attacks!, as well as a major role in Beautiful Girls.^[1] She was also the first choice to play Juliet in William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, but producers felt her age wasn't suitable enough.^[46] In 1997, Portman played the role of Anne Frank in a Broadway adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank. She initially turned down the lead role in the film Anywhere But Here, after learning it would involve a sex scene, but director Wayne Wang and actress Susan Sarandon demanded upskirt nedel a rewrite of the script; Portman was shown a new draft, and she joined the project.^[1] The film opened in late 1999, and she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Ann August.^[48] Critic Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon called Portman "astonishing", and noted that "[u]nlike any number of actresses her age, she's neither too maudlin nor too plucky."^[49] In the late 1990s, Portman was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. The first part, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, opened in early 1999, and the popularity of the film made Portman well known to audiences.^[1] She then signed on to play the lead role of a persevering teenaged mother in Where the Heart Is.

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.^[1] Nathalie Portman, interviews 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.^[3]

In 2004, Portman appeared in the independent movies Garden State and Closer.^[1] nathalie portmann Garden State was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, and won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. Her performance as Alice in Closer saw Portman win a Supporting Actress Golden Globe as well as a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination.^[52][53]