Born in Jerusalem, Natalie Portman moved to the United States at the age of three with her parents. Natalie was discovered by a modeling agent in a pizza shop at the age of 10, and despite the fact that she had never had an acting class, she was cast as the tragic Mathilda in Luc Besson's 1994 hit film Leon, also known as The Professional. Her heart-jerking performance in the film impressed both critics and audiences who were anxious to see more. She next appeared with Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in Michael Mann's Heat.

1996 was Natalie's busiest year to date as she appeared in three films including the popular comedy Beautiful Girls in which she gave another terrific performance as a sweet adolescent. Taking a break for a few years, Natalie came back to the big screen in big fashion as the stoic, yet caring Queen Amidala in the first Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace. Portman also took on challenging roles in Anywhere But Here<