Natalie Portman Says She Was 'Really Sexualized' as a Kid, Leading to Misunderstandings
The actor spoke in a recent interview about how she changed her persona as a young woman to ward off how she was uncomfortably sexualized at the time.
Natalie Portman got honest in a recent interview about her experiences being sexualized in her youth and how it changed how she carried herself.
The Black Swan actor and former L'OFFICIEL cover star spoke with Jenna Ortega, ahead of an upcoming movie, for a story from Interview Magazine's Spring 2025 issue. Both performers shared an expansive conversation, which fluctuated between topics like what it's been like traveling to locations for shooting to some more challenging experiences. Among them, Portman opened up about how she reacted to being sexualized from an early age. For example, Portman was 12 years old at the time she shot Léon, which helped shoot her to fame but became, in many ways, part of the issue in how she grew to be seen in the '90s.
"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. Obviously sexuality is a huge part of being a kid, but I wanted it to be inside of me, not directed towards me," she told Interview.
"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," she added.
In the interview between her and Ortega, Portman also spoke about the importance of staying grounded when famous. Her parents, helped, she said, but her friends have also been huge for spotting who is being phony around her, or treating her nicely because of her status and work as an actor.
"Everyone’s so nice to you when you’re an actor and it’s sometimes hard to see the signs that someone’s not a great person. When you have friends that can be like, 'Oh, they were really nice to you, but they didn’t even say hi to me,' it helps you navigate when you’re being pampered all the time," she said. The 43-year-old actor added, that "a lot of people just turn into yes-people, which is not a good way to be a person in the world. You need a little feedback like 'It’s not cool when you do this' to understand how you can be the best possible person."
Portman, who finalized divorced from her husband Benjamin Millepied last year, recently finished filming for The Gallerist, a thriller where Ortega co-stars, set to release in 2026 and directed by Cathy Yan.
Stay tuned for more updates on the movie from L'OFFICEL.
