Natalie Portman highlights Jewish writers among her favorite books
Among her favorite books included Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, written by Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari.
By GADI ZAIGCast member Natalie Portman poses at the premiere for "Annihilation" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 13, 2018. (Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni)(photo credit: MARIO ANZUONI/REUTERS)
Actress Natalie Portman listed many Jewish authors when discussing her favorite books with Elle.com last Tuesday.Jewish writers she mentioned included Deborah Levy, who wrote The Cost of Living and Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai, who wrote Poems of Jerusalem. She also mentions Israeli Soul, a cookbook of Israeli cuisine written by Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook.Also among her favorite books included Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, written by Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari, who is also a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and author of other best-selling books Homo Deus and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.Portman conducted an 80-minute interview with Harari two years ago covering multiple topics such as myth, religion's role in society, and AI. The video can be watched here:Another discussion between the two happened recently regarding the Women's Movement:Portman has shown to be a woman of multiple talents in the film industry, also working on films as a producer. In 2015, she directed and starred in a film entirely in Hebrew called A Tale of Love and Darkness, based off the memoir of the same name by Israeli author Amos Oz.Portman, born in Jerusalem, made her debut on Broadway at 16 years old in The Dairy of Anne Frank. She is most famous for playing Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, her Oscar-winning role as Nina Sayers in Black Swan, and as Jane Foster in the Marvel Cinematic UniverseThor movies, a role she will reprise in the upcoming film Thor: Love and Thunder, postponed to release only next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.In 2005, Portman played the role of Rebecca, a Jewish-American girl living in Jerusalem in the film Free Zone, directed by Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai.
Portman holds both US and Israeli citizenship. Recently, her profile on IMDb reported that she was from "occupied Palestine" before the location was changed back to Israel.
