Inspiring Lust in Star Wars Nerds Since 1999
07/02/07 2:44 by Nasanji Parker for SuperModelCalendars.com 

Would Natalie Hershlag Inspire Equally?

We’ll never know, as Ms. Hershlag was born in 1981 in Jerusalem, the daughter of an Israeli medical doctor and an American housewife, changed her name to Portman (her grandmother’s maiden name) when she was 12.

The family moved to the United States when Natalie was 3. That year, the little girl started taking dance lessons and performing in local groups. She was an ambitious, serious kid, and at age 12 she was lured into modeling by Revlon.

Portman did an Off-Broadway show in 1993 and subsequently got her big break by appearing in Luc Besson’s film “The Professional.” She was an instant sensation, admired for her beauty as well as her precocious acting talent.

She took acting classes, went to theater camp, and performed onstage for the next few years before being cast as Padme Amidala, aka the girl who broke Darth Vader’s heart, in the Star Wars prequels. When The Phantom Menace was released in May 1999, Portman was not quite 18. Almost instantly, there were dozens of websites counting down the days until she became “legal” — Right, as if any of these sweaty-palmed, noodle-heads had a chance with a princess. Is the countdown over?

She starred in two chick flicks, Anywhere But Here and Where the Heart Is, around the same time as The Phantom Menace, and then took a break from movies to get smart. She went to Harvard — home of many, many smart people — in the fall of 1999 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2003. During that time the only movie she made was the second “Star Wars” prequel. How cool is that?

With that pesky Ivy League, psychology degree out of the way, she was free to get back in front of the cameras, appearing in Cold Mountain, Garden State, and Closer, the last of which earned her an Oscar nomination. She also played a pregnant Padme in the final “Star Wars” trilogy, eventually squirting out baby Luke and Leia before collapsing dead on the delivery table, an ignominious end to a beloved character.

Apart from the “Star Wars” movies, Portman’s films have almost all been lower-profile fare. She still loves theater, too — real, meaty theater like Chekhov (which she performed in Central Park in 2001), which is a lot like “Cats” without the music, costumes, dancing and the cats. Her appearance in the 2006 film V for Vendetta was politically charged and simultaneously demonstrated her acting depth and that she still looked hot even with a shaved head.

Even with her Harvard smarts and cerebral role choices, she clearly does not take herself too seriously, as evidenced by her brief cameo in Zoolander, and in a 2006 “Saturday Night Live” appearing as a foul-mouthed gangsta rapper in one memorable segment. She also provided the voice for a “Simpsons” character in a 2007 episode.

In summation, she’s similar to Paris Hilton except for her college degree, her ability to speak English, Hebrew, French, Japanese, and German, her awareness as a global citizen, her hair color, her height and her ability at a moment’s notice to recite the name of the current vice president. Not similar? One’s an actress.