Natalie Portman: fun facts only hardcore fans will know

She's an actress, a speaker, a film director, and a producer; Natalie Portman is a woman who can do it all! Join us as we take a look at her life and nearly 30 years on the big screen. Read some of the most surprising facts about this passionate actress!

Natalie Portman was born in Israel on June 9th, 1981. Her given name when born was Neta-Lee Hershlag; Neta-Lee is a Hebrew name. However, when Natalie landed a role in 'Leon: The Professional' in 1994, she adopted the stage name of Portman. It is the maiden name of her grandmother on her father's side of the family. The reason she switched names, according to People magazine, was to help maintain both her own and her family's privacy.

Natalie Portman holds dual citizenship in Israel and the U.S. This is because she was born in Jerusalem to Jewish parents. However, she grew up in Washington, D.C., Connecticut, and Long Island as a child.

Portman is well known for her role in the ballet film 'Black Swan .' While she did have a double for the more complicated dance moves, Portman also danced herself. Natalie has always enjoyed dancing; she started taking dance lessons at the age of 4.

In regards to her training for 'Black Swan' in an interview with Timeout Magazine, Natalie said, "I really loved it. I loved learning the specifics, to see how much they work on fingertips, eyes, wrists – these really tiny nuances. And I did love the discipline."

According to Harper's Bazaar, Natalie went vegetarian when she was just eight years old. Since then, she has switched between being either vegan or vegetarian. Portman has also narrated and produced a documentary on factory farming called 'Eating Animals.'

According to iMBD, Natalie was a bit of a nerd in high school. Her classmates voted the actress to be "Most Likely to Appear on Jeopardy."

Portman is small in stature and is only 5'3" tall (160cm)! According to IMBD.com, when in the London airport for the third 'Star Wars' prequel, a customs official asked Portman if she was traveling with a guardian!

'Team Sleep,' an alt-rock band named a ballad after the actress. The song's original title was 'Natalie Portman,' however, when the band's 2005 album was released, they changed the name of the song.

Natalie was discovered by a beauty scout from Revlon cosmetics when she was just nine years old. She was at a pizza shop when she was presented with the possibility of doing modeling. Portman declined; she preferred acting.

Natalie Portman isn't just a pretty face; she has always loved learning, and receiving her post-secondary education was very important to her. Portman graduated in 2003 from Harvard with honours and an A.B in Psychology. According to Vanity Fair, Portman said, “I’m going to college. I don’t care if it ruins my career. I’d rather be smart than a movie star.”

Along with scientists Ian Hurley and Jonathan Woodward, Natalie wrote the paper titled "A Simple Method To Demonstrate the Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen from Sugar." The paper was included in the Intel Science Talent Search, and it is also available in Harvard's Astrophysics Data System.

For the film 'V for Vendetta, ' Portman had no qualms about shaving her head for her role. Fans did notice that the actress had a slight indentation in her head, though. According to IMBD, it is the result of a vacuum extraction when the actress was born.

Natalie Portman and her husband Benjamin Millepied have declared themselves a TV-free couple. According to IMBD, they have chosen not to have any television sets in their home. That doesn't mean they never what films or TV shows, just that they use a computer when they do.

As one might guess, seeing as she has a degree from Harvard, Portman is a smart cookie. Not only does she have an IQ of 140, but she can also speak six different languages! According to Babbel.com, Portman can speak Hebrew, English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.

Natalie wanted to see more roles for women by women in film. So, she decided to create her own production company to do so! Portman founded Handsomecharlie Films and has done just what she set out to do.

According to ET Online, Natalie Portman and Britney Spears are friends! The unlikely pair were both once understudies for the off-Broadway play 'Ruthless! ' Although their careers took very different directions, they pair apparently still maintain a friendship and even hosted a New Year's party together in 2002. On ET Online, Portman said, "And we had a party together," of the New Year's Eve bash she and Spears held. "And she was really great."

According to iMBD, Natalie Portman turned down the role of Ann August in the 1999 movie 'Anywhere But Here' because she didn't feel comfortable with a sex scene in the film. So, Susan Sarandon, who was starring in the film, said she wouldn't film without Portman. The producers accepted and re-wrote the scene just for Portman.

In her life before her starring role in 'Star Wars,' the actress didn't know the difference between 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek'! In 2004, the actress admitted to James Lipton that prior to her role in 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace' (1999), she didn't know the difference between the two and had never seen 'Star Wars' before.