Vanity Fair "Hollywood 1998" issue: April 1998

Blurb by Dana Brown
"It's all about experience," Natalie Portman says of her flourishing career. "The people I get to work with, the friends you make." Since her feature debut, as the waifish heroine in The Professional, Portman, 16, has become one of the most accomplished young actors of her generation. "My training has all been watching other people," she says, referring to co-stars such as Al Pacino in Heat and Jack Nicholson in Mars Attacks! Currently, Portman can be seen on Broadway as the lead in The Diary of Anne Frank. And she's gearing up for her role as the young queen in the upcoming Star Wars prequels -- projects that should give her a leg up on the kids in her drama class when she gets to college.
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