Who

Thanks to roles in geek fare like Star Wars, V for Vendetta, and Garden State, the former child actress from Long Island is what Winona Ryder was a generation ago—a perpetually pixified princess with an edge.

Backstory

Born to a fertility specialist father, the allegedly shy Portman grew up in Syosset and was discovered by a Revlon agent at 12. She began acting off-Broadway as a teen, then made her big-screen debut at 13 in 1994's The Professional. After a slew of small-budget films, in the late '90s she became the nerd crush of choice with her role in the Stars Wars prequels. Portman later broke away from the sci-fi scene (and her good-girl image) to play a stripper in Closer, earning an Oscar nomination. She's since garnered critical praise for her roles in Cold Mountain, Garden State, and My Blueberry Nights, which debuted at the Cannes film festival in 2007. Until 2003, Portman filmed most of her roles during the summer months so she could attend classes at Harvard. She later spent a semester taking grad school classes at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Of note

While you won't catch her posing on the cover of Maxim a la Jessica Alba, Portman's still a sex symbol, albeit to sci-fi geeks and cardigan-wearing hipsters. She's accumulated cred in arty indie films, and remains picky about her roles—and her image. She went bald for V for Vendetta, but asked director Mike Nichols to cut a full frontal shot from Closer (which he did, despite the fact that she was playing a stripper, to the chagrin of fanboys everywhere). Internerd bloggers sighed with relief after she appeared partially nude in a 2007 Wes Anderson short film, Hotel Chevalier. Other recent credits include Anderson's lengthier The Darjeeling Limited, kid flick Mr. Margorium's Wonder Emporium, and Henry VIII saga The Other Boleyn Girl. As for future parts, she'll get serious and star alongside Toby Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in 2008's war-in-Afghanistan drama Brothers.

Personal

The vegetarian Portman has been romantically linked with a long list of Hollywood bachelors, including Lukas Haas, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hayden Christensen (who played her love interest in Star Wars), Gael Garcia Bernal, and Nat Rothschild (Ivanka Trump's ex). She sold her apartment in Richard Meier's 165 Charles Street for $6.55 million in 2008.

No joke

She never officially changed her name to Natalie Portman. If you want to, say, write her a check, you'll have to make it payable to Natalie Hershlag.