April 18, 2025, 9:33 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Natalie Portman discusses in a new interview how she was sexualized during her teenage years in Hollywood. Learn why the actress is now more open about her experiences as a child star and what advice she offers to young colleagues like Jenna Ortega at STYLEBOOK.
Hollywood icon, mother, feminist: Natalie Portman is one of the most recognizable faces in the film world and is among the women who have managed to assert their voice in a male-dominated industry. In a conversation with fellow actress Jenna Ortega, the 43-year-old is unusually candid: She talks about her childhood in the public eye, the protective mechanisms she developed early on, and the fine line between self-protection and self-denial.
Overview
A Youth in the Spotlight — with Shadows
Natalie Portman was just 12 years old when she became world-famous with the film “Léon: The Professional.” The role made her a star, but the price was high. “I was really sexualized,” she says today, reflecting in “Interview Magazine.” An experience she shares with many young actresses. “Sexuality is part of growing up, but it should be one’s own choice, not something projected onto you from the outside.”
To protect herself, Portman developed a clear image early on: “I was the intellectual. The diligent one. The one no one attacks.” This image, Portman says, was her strategy to be taken seriously and to protect herself from assaults. “It shouldn’t have been necessary, but it worked.”
Despite her early career, Natalie Portman never lost touch with reality, thanks in part to a stable private environment. Her parents, she says, always kept her grounded. Later, it was friends who helped her distinguish between genuine interest and superficial praise. “In this profession, it’s easy to be surrounded by yes-men. But you need people who are honest, who will tell you, ‘That wasn’t cool.’
She passes this attitude on to colleagues like Jenna Ortega, who also became known in the industry as a teenager. Portman emphasizes how important it is to consciously create moments of joy, especially when personal life is challenging. “When everything at home is complicated, at least work should be easy and fun.”
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A topic particularly close to Portman’s heart is the visibility of women, both in front of and behind the camera. Even though the industry is slowly changing, much remains male-dominated. “As a young girl, I felt safe on set mainly in the makeup room—there were women. The rest was a man’s world.” Today, she chooses her projects more consciously, works specifically with female directors, and values productions where women don’t just play “the girlfriend of” but embody real, complex characters.
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Why Natalie Portman Speaks More Openly About Her Experiences Today
Despite her public life, Natalie Portman is consistent in some things: She doesn’t show her children on social media, and she rarely gives interviews about her private life. Yet she emphasizes, “I’m not as closed off as many think. But I learned early on that people are more likely to respect your boundaries if you set them clearly.” It’s this mix of seriousness and self-irony, of protection and openness, that makes Portman so fascinating. A woman who has experienced much and yet does not let her past define her, but uses it to show others a way forward.
Speaking publicly about the sexualization of her childhood was not an easy step, but a necessary one. “Because it still happens. Because young girls are still reduced to their appearance far too early. And because something needs to change.”
With her voice, her experience, and her openness, Natalie Portman stands today for all the girls who come after her. She makes it clear that to survive in Hollywood, you need more than just talent. You need courage—and people who help you stay true to yourself.