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Léon: The Professional

The 1994 hit-man drama catapulted 13-year-old Portman to stardom after she played Mathilda, a world-weary pre-teen with an indelible bob cut and ever-present choker.

From ©Columbia Pictures/Photofest.

Anywhere but Here

When moody-teen roles came calling, Portman answered with this mother-daughter drama.

From ©20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection.

Where the Heart Is

Portman held her own alongside Ashley Judd as country, kindly Novalee Nation, a pregnant teen who gets ditched in a Walmart parking lot.

From ©20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

Say what you will about her performance as Padmé Amidala (and sure, people—Portman included—have said a lot), but how can you not include her Star Wars debut in a rundown of her most memorable roles?

From Everett Collection.

Closer

With a pink wig and lines like “Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off,” Portman nailed the part of “Alice,” an inscrutable stripper. The performance earned her her first Oscar nod.

From ©Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection.

V for Vendetta

In the canon of actors shaving their heads for a movie role, this anarchist touchstone reigns supreme thanks to Portman’s all-in performance as Evey, a girl searching for a life without fear.

From ©Warner Brothers/Everett Collection.

Garden State

Portman is not fond of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl label foisted upon this role—but there’s no doubt that she manages to elevate the part of a quirky, pathological liar in Zach Braff’s indie dramedy.

From ©Fox Searchlight/Everett Collection.

My Blueberry Nights

In this drama directed by Wong Kar-wai, Portman makes a turn as Leslie, a Southern poker player with a scrum of blonde curls and a fiery streak.

From ©Weinstein Company/Everett Collection.

Saturday Night Live

A quick TV exception: Portman lampooned her public image as a picture-perfect Harvard grad with this instant-classic S.N.L. short, rapping about cheating, snorting coke, and smoking pot every day in college. There was an equally insane sequel in 2018.

Paris, Je T’aime

In this series of vignettes, Portman plays an American in Paris who falls in love and struggles to make it as an actress.

From ©First Look Pictures/Everett Collection.

New York, I Love You

And in the second, companion film, she plays a Hasidic diamond dealer with a wedding just around the corner.

From Also Know As/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock.

The Other Boleyn Girl

As the clever Anne Boleyn, Portman was able to tap into her regal side, playing the witty but doomed queen.

From ©Focus Features/Everett Collection.

Black Swan

Portman snagged her first Oscar for her performance as a wide-eyed ballerina struggling to separate the real world from her hallucinations. What else can we say; she was perfect.

From ©Fox Searchlight Pictures/Everett Collection.

Hesher

The actress brought balance to this heavy-metal indie, playing Nicole, a grocery store cashier with ginormous glasses who’s just trying to get by.

By Merrick Morton/©Wrekin Hill Entertainment/Everett Collection.

No Strings Attached

The word “rom-com” rarely comes up in the actress’s catalogue, but she gave the genre a Portmanian whirl in this 2011 film as a doctor trying out the whole friends-with-benefits thing.

By Dale Robinette/©Paramount Pictures/Everett Collection.

Thor

There comes a time when every great actor gets sucked into the superhero vortex. Portman got in early with the first Thor, playing Jane Foster, a no-nonsense, world-class astrophysicist who holds her own against the titular Norse god.

By Jay Maidment/©Walt Disney Studios/Everett Collection.

A Tale of Love and Darkness

Portman pulled triple duty on her Amos Oz adaptation, writing, directing (her feature debut!), and starring in this Jerusalem-set drama.

By Ran Mendelson/©Focus World/Everett Collection.

Jackie

The strong accent dominated the initial chatter about this film—but Portman’s Oscar-nominated performance as Jackie Kennedy is a gripping and deeply human tour de force.

By William Gray/©Fox Searchlight Pictures/Everett Collection.

Annihilation

The beguiling sci-fi release stars Portman (and a slew of other fantastic actresses) as a stoic scientist in mourning who steps into a forest full of unknown dangers.

From ©Paramount Pictures/Everett Collection.

Vox Lux

In the upcoming drama, Portman plays Celeste, a tough, Bowie-esque pop star angling for a comeback.

Courtesy of NEON.

Credit:Vanity Fair

via USAHint.com