Natalie Portman (Hebrew: ???? ???????; born Natalie Hershlag June 9, 1981) is an Israeli American actress. Her first role came in the 1994 independent film Léon. She became very widely known when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Portman, who stated that she would “…rather be smart than be a movie star,” completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Harvard College while she was working on the Star Wars films.