Natalie Portman Appears On Harper's Bazaar Magazine Cover, Talks About Her Israeli Roots

Actress Natalie Portman appears on the cover of the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, where she appears fresh in a pink satin gown. At 34, the “Black Swan” star also looks young and beautiful in the photographs in the magazine.

Portman is an Oscar-winning actress who resides in Paris with her husband Benjamin Millepie, a French dancer and choreographer. The couple has a 4-year-old son, Aleph. She may be an experienced mother now, but when her son was born, she was nervous and sought the advice of fellow actress Cate Blanchett on how to be a good parent.

“I said, ‘How do you do it? You’re a mom. You’re the best at what you do,’” Portman said. “She said, ‘You just do. Stressing about it doesn’t help.’”

Portman, who spent a piece of her early life on New York’s Long Island, is happily settled in the French capital, where she said the experience is “magical.” However, she also said she finds the cultures of France and the U.S. very different. “But the cultures are different in ways you don’t even realize. And there’s stuff you don’t know you’ll miss until you’re away,” she told the magazine.

The actress also talked about how people in France are very skeptical about her Israeli roots, but she is “grateful” for them. “Everyone has a very strong, very passionate opinion about it,” Portman said of her native country. “But I’m grateful for it. I had so many friends who asked, when we were younger, ‘Who am I? What’s my identity?’ I never questioned my identity.”

However, the actress seems uncomfortable answering questions related to Middle East, saying she would rather have people ask her questions about what she is wearing. “I like to look at what people are wearing, but I do see the sexism in it. Yeah, you could reject it all, but I don’t know anyone who has done that and been able to maintain the level of work I’d like to maintain,” Portman said.