After the 83rd Academy Awards, where Portman won Best Actress for her performance in the film as a ballerina, controversy arose over how much credit for the dancing in the film was being given to her and how much to her "dance double", American Ballet Theatre soloist Sarah Lane.
Keira Knightley played the double for Natalie Portman's character in Star Wars Episode 1: A Phantom Menace. In the film, Knightley's "Sabe" is used as a decoy to protect the real Queen of Naboo, Padme, played by Portman.
Why did Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman play the same character?
The Phantom Menace's production crew chose Knightley for the role because of her resemblance to Natalie Portman, who played Padmé. In fact, even the actors' mothers couldn't tell them apart after hair and makeup.
Leaving ABT two years ago, Lane felt defeated, “like it was all about tricks, tricks, tricks, or how many followers someone had on social media.” Clashing with her director in opinions of artistry and professionalism, she left the company she had called home for the last 18 years to honor her own artistic integrity.
The Oscar-winning actress met the French choreographer on the set of Black Swan, and has 2 children with him. After months of media speculation about Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied's marriage being in trouble, the pair have officially called it quits.
Natalie Portman: Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis
Who did Natalie Portman have a baby with?
Natalie Portman is a mom of two. The actress shares her kids, son Aleph and daughter Amalia, with her ex-husband, Benjamin Millepied. The pair were married for 11 years before separating in July 2023 and finalizing their divorce in February 2024.
Portman and Millepied's first child, a son named Aleph, was born on June 14, 2011, just five days after the actor's 30th birthday. In 2015, Portman commented on balancing being a parent to Aleph and her career in an interview with Harper's Bazaar.
Originally Answered: Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis were amazing in Black Swan. How did they train to nail the ballet dancing? Natalie Portman took ballet lessons until the age of 13 while Mila Kunis had no dance background.
Late last year, reports emerged on Axios and other media that two former dancers were suing the Richmond Ballet for a combined $21 million. They allege that the ballet “acted negligently and intentionally inflicted emotional distress,” particularly regarding dancers' weights.
Knightley and Portman look so strikingly similar in fact that, Knightley actually played Portman's double, Sabé, in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
Padmé was born in 46 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) and Anakin's miraculous Force-created birth came in 41 BBY, so Padmé was five years older than him. They did not meet until Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, which took place in 32 BBY.
Keira Knightley played Sabé one of Padmé Amidala's handmaidens, in The Phantom Menace. During most of the film Knightley's role involved playing a deco for Amidala. The best look we got at Sabé when she was not a decoy was at the end of the film during the Naboo celebration.
Portman began working on Star Wars only a few years after she started acting. Production for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace began on June 26, 1997, when Portman was just 16 years old. The movie hit theaters on May 19, 1999, when Portman was a few weeks shy of turning 18.
Source: Ruth Smit Photography. South African professional dancer and model Simoné Welgemoed was born deaf to hearing parents due to a genetic mutation called the Connexin 26 mutation. Of four siblings born to parents with typical hearing, she and her older sister Elnette were both born deaf.
A former ballet teacher and principal dancer at the English National Ballet has been sentenced to nine years in prison for more than a dozen counts of assault against his students. Yat-Sen Chang, 50, was found guilty by a London court of 13 counts of assault and rape against his students.
“I didn't starve myself,” Mila told Howard Stern. “I did do it in the healthiest way possible. I don't recommend anybody ever doing it.” When working on Black Swan, Kunis (who's 5′ 4″) ended up weighing about 95 pounds.
What mental disorder does Nina have in Black Swan?
Additionally, Nina's constant fixation on achieving perfection displays elements of an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. The movie provides no explanation of Nina's diagnosis, nor does it show her receiving treatment, which left interpretation of her mental illness to the audience.
Kunis had never had any previous experience in ballet, but trained for three months in order to "fake it." Kunis acknowledges that she got "crazy thin," as Stern puts it, weighing about 95 pounds. "I didn't starve myself," Kunis, who's 5' 4," stresses. "I did do it in the healthiest way possible.
Is Natalie Portman religious? Yes, Natalie Portman is Jewish. She was born in Jerusalem, Israel, to Israeli parents and moved to the United States when she was a young child. Her birth name is Neta-Lee Hershlag, and she has spoken openly about her Jewish heritage and its significance in her life.
Upon her morning routine, Portman said “I'm vegan, so I generally have a very clean diet; I usually have oatmeal or avocado toast in the morning. I take vitamins too—vitamin D, and I'm still on prenatal vitamins. I get B12 shots once a month because it's the one thing you don't get from a vegan diet.”
