Natalie Portman (Hebrew: נטלי פורטמן‎; born Natalie Hershlag June 9, 1981) is an Israeli American actress. Her first role came in the 1994 independent film Léon (known in the United States as The Professional). She achieved wider fame after playing Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.[1] Portman, who has said "I'd rather be smart than a movie star,"[2] completed a bachelor's degree in psychology at Harvard College while she was working on the Star Wars films.[3] In 2001, Portman ope - en.wikipedia.org