Natalie Portman has reflected on her struggles being sexualized as a young actress and the ‘Lolita phase’ she endured early in her acting career.
Portman was just 12 when she began her film career in Leon: The Professional, playing a young girl who befriends a hit man in hopes of avenging her parents’ murders.
Two years later she starred in Beautiful Girls, which sees a 30-year-old man (played by Timothy Hutton) who starts crushing on a 13-year-old girl played by Portman.
In the latest issue of Interview Magazine, Portman, 43, recalled her struggles being sexualized as a young girl and how she projected an image of intelligence to protect herself.
The topic came up after Jenna Ortega, who stars opposite Portman in The Gallerist and was interviewing her for the magazine, asked Portman if she felt the public’s perception of her was ‘on the money’ or if she felt she’s been able to ‘keep things just for you.’
‘I think there’s a public understanding of me that’s different from who I am. I’ve talked about it a little before—about how, as a kid, I was really sexualized, which I think happens to a lot of young girls who are onscreen. I felt very scared by it,’ Portman replied.
Natalie Portman has reflected on her struggles being sexualized as a young actress and the ‘Lolita phase’ she endured early in her acting career
‘Obviously sexuality is a huge part of being a kid, but I wanted it to be inside of me, not directed towards me. And I felt like my way of protecting myself was to be like, “I’m so serious. I’m so studious. I’m smart, and that’s not the kind of girl you attack.”
‘I was like, if I create this image of myself, I’ll be left alone. It shouldn’t be a thing, but it worked. But I think that’s the disconnect between me being stupid and silly in real life, and people thinking that I’m some really serious bookish person.
‘I’m not a particularly private person in real life—I’ll tell you anything—but in public, it was so clear early on that if you tell people how private you are, your privacy gets respected a lot more. I set up a little bit of a barrier to be like, “I’m not going to do photo shoots with my kids.”‘
Leon: The Professional attracted controversy for its moral ambiguity, with many viewing Portman’s character as a Lolita-esque figure and many were left uncomfortable with the relationship between her and the middle-aged killer, played by Jean Reno.
Indeed, the movie’s writer and director, Luc Besson has admitted that in the initial draft script, the pair actually become lovers, but he changed his mind.
Portman was discovered in a pizza shop by a Revlon modeling agent at the age of 10, but quickly turned from modeling to acting, according to HDNet Movies.
In her first audition for The Professional, casting director Todd Thaler felt she was too young. But in a callback, director Luc Besson was impressed with her emotional depth, and hand-picked her for the role.
‘There are definitely tropes, and I think at each phase in my career, there was a different one that I was like, “Oh, I’ve got to avoid this,”‘ Portman said as she began reflecting on the various tropes she’s been cast in during her career.
‘Obviously there was a long Lolita phase, then there was the long “chick who helps the guy realize his emotional thing” phase for about a decade. And now I feel like it’s “mothers who have harmed children,” which is just like, I cannot emotionally go there.’
Portman was just 12 when she began her film career in Leon: The Professional, playing a young girl who befriends a hit man in hopes of avenging her parents’ murders
Three years later she played the object of an adult man’s affection in Beautiful Girls
The artistic accompanying shoot captured Portman in a series of stylish looks
‘I was just excited to have kids, and with a person that I was in love with,’ she told Ortega of raising kids as a former child star herself
The actress spoke with The Gallerist co-star Jenna Ortega for the latest issue of Interview Magazine
Portman also offered a rare glimpse inside her former marriage to Benjamin Millepied.
Portman, who divorced Millepied, 47, last year following allegations he cheated on her with a younger woman, shares son Aleph, 13, and daughter Amalia, eight, recalled being ‘excited’ to start a family with someone she ‘was in love with’.
‘I was just excited to have kids, and with a person that I was in love with. But it’s really important to have people in your life who keep you on the ground,’ she told Jenna of starting a family as a former child star.
Portman and Millepied met in 2009 on the set of her psychological horror film Black Swan, for which he was the choreographer.
The now-exes became engaged in 2010 and were married in 2012 at Big Sur, California.
The sophisticated shoot saw an elegantly-dressed Portman cleaning a window
She struck a shy note as she posed by a curtain in a chic LBD with matching hat
She caught up on some work from the comfort of a bed
Portman sported a tartan mini dress and tights as she spoke into a walkie-talkie
The actress got comfortable in some pajamas
She wore sunglasses as she typed away on her computer
Portman’s marriage to Benjamin Millepied ended last year following allegations he cheated on her with a younger woman
Benjamin also worked on choreography for Natalie’s dark musical drama film Vox Lux in 2018, in which she played a woman who survives a school shooting, only to become a pop star.
Last year French outlet Voici released an explosive report claiming Millepied had an affair with 25-year-old climate activist Camille Étienne.
The allegations came to light in June 2023 and Portman subsequently filed for divorce. It was finalized last year.
