Volume 1, Issue 1
involved in a variety of extracurricular activities, including dance,
and she studied tap dancing, ballet, and jazz+
While in high school, Natalie coauthored a research paper with
Jonathan Woodward and Ian Hurley that was entered into a national science talent search, the Intel
Science Talent Search+ The contest is considered a premiere national research competition+ Winners of the contest have gone on
to win Nobel Prizes in chemistry
and physics+ Portman, who can
also lay claim to an Academy
Award for best actress in a leading role, reached the semifinal
rounds of the science competition
with her paper entitled "A Simple
Page 31
(Internet movie data-base; IMDB)
Method to Demonstrate the Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen
From Sugar+"
By the time Portman reached her senior year in high school, she already had a number of film
credits to her name, including "The Professional," "Heat," "Beautiful Girls," and "Mars Attacks”+ In
1999 she landed the role of Queen Amidala in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace+"
When the film premiered, fans may have noticed Portman's absence at the star-studded
event+ The star skipped the event so she could study for her final high school exams+ The decision appears to have been a good one as she graduated with honors and a 4+0 GPA from
Long Island High School in 1999+
After completing filming for "Where the Heart Is," Natalie announced she would be taking a
break from her acting career to focus on completing a college education+ She even moved
into the dorms at Harvard University while pursuing a bachelor's degree in psychology+ During
her time at Harvard, Portman worked as a research assistant and became a social activist+ As
a student, she penned a letter to the Harvard Crimson regarding an essay that criticized Israeli
actions regarding Palestinians+
Portman also continued her interest in scientific writings when she worked on a memory
study title "Frontal Lobe Activation during Object Permanence: Data from Near-Infrared Spectroscopy+" The study was completed as part of her studies while at Harvard+ The study was
later published in a scientific journal+ She graduated in 2003+
Although Natalie has achieved success as an actress, she has not completely ruled out pursuing a career as a physician, and she has also pursued graduate studies+ In the spring following her graduation from Harvard, Portman began taking graduate courses at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem+ She has also served as a guest lecturer for a course in counterterrorism
and terrorism at Columbia University+ As part of her lecture, she spoke about her role in the
film "V for Vendetta+" In addition to her interest in psychology, Portman also has a strong interest in a variety of foreign languages+ Along with speaking Hebrew and English fluently, Portman has also studied Japanese, French, Arabic, and German+
Inspired by the article “Natalie Portman's surprising educational background” of examiner+com
31