With an Oscar, a BAFTA, two Golden Globes, and two Critics’ Choice Awards to her name, Natalie Portman has secured her position at the apex of her industry via everything from Closer and Black Swan to Jackie and May December. But before all that, she was a 12-year-old hopeful growing up in Long Island, having moved to the United States with her parents at age three after being born in Jerusalem. Keen on the performing arts, she auditioned for the lead of the 1992 off-Broadway musical Ruthless!. In the end, Jumanji’s Laura Bell Bundy ended up snagging that part—but Portman, along with a nascent Britney Spears, became her understudies (yes, really).
Shortly after, Portman was cast in Luc Besson’s Léon, alongside Jean Reno and Gary Oldman—a startlingly assured, mesmerizing turn that dazzled critics. A string of other films then paved the way to Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, after which her global-movie-star status was all but assured.
As the Hollywood stalwart celebrates her 45th birthday, we wind the clock back to the start of her career through the most glorious ’90s throwback photos of a young Natalie Portman.
