Brian Tuck

We put the spotlight on Natalie Portman, basking in the buzz surrounding her box office hit Black Swan following a year hiatus from acting. She’s back in full force with her other movie in theatres as well, Friends With Benefits, co-starring Ashton Kutcher and was nominated for a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award.

Expecting her first child this year with choreographer Benjamin Millepied, who she met while filming Black Swan, it truly is her year to shine.  Not only is she a famous actress, she’s a good one. She’s someone who likes to keep it real, doesn’t get lost in all Hollywood hype and keeps her head on her shoulders instead of vying for the world’s attention.

She even took time off between films to obtain a degree in Psychology

at Harvard under her given name Natalie Hershlag. She graduated with honors in 2003 and even has been published in scientific journals.  For someone who could survive on her earnings from film alone, the fact she achieved a university education demonstrates her other priorities and a passion for education.  Her recent Golden Globe and Screen Actor's Guild Award tells us that a year of ballet training for her role in Black Swan is a sign she takes her work as serious as her studies.

Born in Jerusalem in 1981, she speaks fluent Hebrew, is a strict vegetarian, member of PETA and a charity campaigner for numerous other organizations. She even created a line of vegan shoes where all profits go to animal charities and literally makes no salary off it. Intelligent, hard-working and enjoys eco-friendly, cruelty-free footwear. Ummm, can she get any cooler?