50 interesting facts about Natalie Portman: Her impressive IQ will blow you away

Israeli-born actress Natalie Portman won the 2010 Academy Award for her role as a dancer in Black Swan. Here are 50 interesting facts about this talented and beautiful actress.

1. Her full name is Neta-Lee Hershlag and later became Natalie Portman.
2. Portman was born in Jerusalem. She is the only child of Shelley, an American homemaker who works as Portman's agent, and Avner Hershlag, an Israeli citizen who is a fertility specialist and gynecologist.
3. She was born on June 9, 1981.
4. She is a dual citizen of the United States and Israel. Her grandparents lost most of their family members in the Holocaust including her paternal great grandparents who were killed at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
5. Natalie has been a a a vegetarian since she was just 8 years old.
6. Natalie was discovered at the age of 9 at a pizza parlor by a Revlon beauty scout. She turned down the modeling offer to instead focus on acting.
   
7. In a magazine interview, Portman said that she was "different from the other kids. I was more ambitious. I knew what I liked and what I wanted, and I worked very hard. I was a very serious kid."
8. She took a liking to acting after spending three summers at the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Camp.
9. Natalie was a member of the environmental song and dance troupe called The World Patrol Kids - under her real name, Natalie Hershlag.
10. She was originally turned down for the role of Mathilda in 1994's "The Professional" because she was too young.
    
11. Natalie Portman's parents had strict guidelines for all the smoking scenes in 'The Professional.' The biggest concern about the film for Natalie's parents wasn't the violence, but the character trait of Matilda being a smoker. Her parents drew out a strict contract with director Luc Besson that there would only be five smoking scenes, that Natalie would never be seen inhaling or exhaling from a cigarette, and that her character would quit the bad habit by the end of the movie.
12. Natalie had to miss the premiere of the 1999 "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," so she could study for her high school final exams.
13. As a young girl, she was an understudy for the lead character in the off-Broadway show, "Ruthless," alongside Britney Spears.
14. She turned down a role in 1998's "The Horse Whisperer" to act in "The Diary of Anne Frank" on Broadway. The role went to newcomer Scarlett Johansson.
15. Natalie Portman and Britney Spears joined forces in 2003 and hosted a New Years party with 40 of their closet friends at Manhattan's Hudson Hotel.
    
16. Portman graduated with honors from Harvard College in 2003 with an A.B. in psychology. She once said, I'm going to college. I don't care if it ruined my career. I'd rather be smart than a movie star."
17. While attending Harvard, she was a resident of Lowell House and wrote a letter to the Harvard Crimson in response to an essay critical of Israeli actions toward Palestinians.
18. In 2004 she took graduate courses at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
19. Two of her research papers were published in scientific journals. Her 1998 high school paper, "A Simple Method to Demonstrate the Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen from Sugar," co-authored with scientists Ian Hurley and Jonathan Woodward, was entered in the Intel Science Talent Search. In 2002, she contributed to a study on memory called "Frontal lobe activation during object permanence: data from near-infrared spectroscopy" during her psychology studies at Harvard.
    
20. Natalie is a near genius, with an IQ score of 140.
21. Natalie auditioned for the role of Juliet in 'William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet,' but the producers thought she was too young to star opposite Leonardo Dicaprio so the role went to Claire Danes instead.
22. She's multi-lingual - she can speak Hebrew, English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
23. Natalie Portman appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine in 2006 while wearing the original black dress Audrey Hepburn wore in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's.'
    
24. Portman hosted Saturday Night Live on March 4, 2006. In a SNL Digital Short, she portrays herself as an angry gangsta rapper (with Andy Samberg as her Flavor Flav-esque partner in Viking garb) during a faux-interview with Chris Parnell, saying she cheated at Harvard University while high on marijuana and cocaine.
25. The year 2007 proved to be a very busy year for the actress as she filmed five movies in less than two years. These movies included 'Goya's Ghosts,' 'Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium,' 'My Blueberry Nights,' ' The Darjeeling Limited' and 'The Other Boleyn Girl.'
26. The band 'Team Sleep' has a song named 'Natalie Portman.'
    
27. She's proved she will do anything as an actress. She shaved her hair for her role in 'V for Vendetta.'
28. Several months after shaving her head for her part in "V for Vendetta," she was traveling through Ireland and stopped for directions at a bed and breakfast. The owners refused to allow her even onto their porch. They did, however, give her directions.
29. Natalie Portman won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for her role in the drama, 'Closer.'
30. Portman hesitantly shot an explicit nude scene for the 2004 "Closer," in the scene where her character Alice strips for Larry (Clive Owen). Ultimately, Portman and director Mike Nichols agreed not to use it, as the scene was effective enough without it.
    
31. After playing the role of Queen Amidala in the 'Star Wars' prequel, Natalie was concerned about the extra attention she might get from fans. 'I thought it would be awful,' she tole People, 'But I can still walk down the street alone and not worry about anyone accosting me.'
32. While filming 'Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium,' Natalie met a five year old child who was diagnosed with Bloom syndrome, a genetic disorder that can cause disabilities and has a high risk of cancer. Natalie was so moved by the girl that she went ahead and organized a fashion auction that benefitted research for a cure.
33. She appeared in Paul McCartney's music video "Dance Tonight" from his 2007 album Memory Almost Full, directed by Michel Gondry.
    
34. Although she was already a vegetarian, she decided to become vegan in 2009.
35. She is close friends with Jake Gyllenhaal, Mila Kunis and Bryce Dallas Howard.
36. Natalie Portman has taken dance lessons since the age of 4, which helped tremendously in preparing for her role in "Black Swan."
37. Her favorite food is tofu and black beans.
    
38. After starring in the video for his song "Carmensita", she began a relationship with American folk singer Devendra Banhart, which ended in September 2008.
39. Natalie turned down the role of Wendy in the 1997 "The Ice Storm" because she felt the material was "too dark." The role went to Christina Ricci, who has said she often gets the projects Natalie turns down.
40. Fashion designer Zac Posen refers to Portman as his "muse."
41. Portman began dating ballet dancer Benjamin Millepied in 2009. The couple met while she was filming Black Swan, for which he was the choreographer.
42. In 2010, Portman's activist work and popularity with young people earned her a nomination for VH1's Do Something Awards, which is dedicated to honoring individuals who do good.
43. In 2010, Portman starred in the psychological thriller Black Swan. Her performance received widespread critical acclaim and she earned her first Academy Award for Best Actress, her second Golden Globe Award, the SAG Award, the BAFTA Award and the BFCA Award in 2011.
44. Natalie received several injuries on the set of Black Swan. The most famous, as it was included in the film, was a rib injury. Natalie had injured her ankle and, because the production could not afford a medic on set, the boom mic operator offered to help. After several minutes of jabbing Natalie in the stomach, Natalie instructed everyone that her rib was now injured. She did, however, admit that her ankle was feeling a lot better.
45. Her favorite color is green.
46. In December 2010, Portman announced their engagement and confirmed her pregnancy.
47. Natalie Portman gave birth to their son Aleph Portman-Millepied in June 2011
48. In April 2012, Portman starred in Paul McCartney's music video, "My Valentine", alongside Johnny Depp.
49. In July 2013, Portman announced she had chosen an adaptation of Israeli author Amos Oz's autobiographical novel A Tale of Love and Darkness as her directorial feature debut. Portman will also star in the film and was a co-writer on the script.
50. Natalie Portman's net worth is $45 million.