Natalie Portman, 43, says there is an 'extremely dangerous' amount of pressure to have a perfect body... after the size 2 star lost 20lbs for a movie role
Natalie Portman is worried about how women are made to feel they have to look perfect all the time.
The Lady In The Lake star said there is an 'extremely dangerous' amount of pressure piled on people to have a perfect body in the social media age.
The 43-year-old star - who lost 20lbs to play a ballerina in her movie Black Swan - told Grazia: 'It's very hard to escape. You have to block it out as much as possible because it's extremely dangerous.'
Asked how she does that, she replied: 'Not being on social media, not reading anything about myself.'
But the Star Wars actress is on social media: she has 9million Instagram followers.
Natalie Portman is worried about how women are made to feel they have to look perfect all the time. The Lady In The Lake star said there is an 'extremely dangerous' amount of pressure piled on people to have a perfect body in the social media age; seen left this year and right in Black Swan
The star - who lost 20lbs to play a ballerina in her movie Black Swan - told Grazia : 'It's very hard to escape. You have to block it out as much as possible because it's extremely dangerous.' Seen in 2023
Portman is reportedly 5ft3in and is a size two in dresses.
The brunette also said that women are dressing without much personal character when on the red carpet.
She added there was 'more personal style' when stars didn't have stylists for red carpet events.
The Professional actress misses the days when there was more 'self-expression' through fashion.
She told Grazia: 'In my twenties there were no stylists, you wore what you liked, there wasn't as much pressure on it.
'It meant there were more mistakes, but it allowed for more personal style. There's not so much self-expression when someone is choosing things for you.'
Portman used a stylist - Kate Young - and also works for Dior.
The mother-of-two - who has son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, seven, with estranged husband Benjamin Millepied - also admitted she has more time for self-care and wearing nice clothes and makeup now her children are older.
The Israeli-born said: 'When you have really young kids and you're trying to make it through the day, if you can get clothes on them, that feels like an achievement.
'Now they're older I have the time to dry my hair, put some makeup on, choose a nice outfit and not feel hurried all the time.'
Asked how she does that, she replied: 'Not being on social media, not reading anything about myself.' But the Star Wars actress is on social media: she has 9million Instagram followers. Seen in June
She has a timeless look. Left in 2006 and right in January
When it comes to choosing body and hair products, Natalie ensures she picks the right scent.
She said: 'Every part of my routine is very scent oriented. It's very important to me how things smell, I choose everything from my hair and body wash to my face moisturizer based on the scent.'
Her go-to is citrus as it is 'evocative' of her youth.
She shared: 'I grew up around a lot of citrus groves because I visited Israel a lot, so orange and citrus blossom are very evocative of my childhood.'
This comes after she said she prefers roles that differ from her real life situation.
The star's film career has spanned three decades and she explained that she now sets out to avoid parts that she can easily relate to.
Quizzed on her criteria for choosing projects, Natalie told Total Film magazine: 'I think that the main thing that's changed is that I specifically look for things that are not like my life now.
'I don't know that I ever did things that were like my life, but I wasn't as conscious about it. And now I'm like, I love my life. I love my kids and my friends. I don't want to go and pretend and be with other kids and friends.
'I want to do something that's an experience that I wouldn't get to have normally, like exploring what my grandmother's existence was like, or, you know, playing a rock star or an astronaut or something that feels like, 'Oh, I'm getting to dip my toes into another existence.''
The 'Black Swan' star admits that she finds it easiest to perform when she can conceal herself with costumes and accents.
Portman runs from a 'secret life' in her new movie Lady of the Lake
Natalie said: 'I think it's always helpful to have these markers of what's different from you.
'It immediately makes it someone who's not you when you have an accent, or when you're dressed differently. Those things are helpful. It's the hardest, actually, when you don't have that to hide behind.'
Portman also explained that she doesn't get disheartened if one of her films doesn't perform brilliantly at the cinema as she is confident that audiences will discover it via other means.
The Oscar-winning actress said: 'That's the beauty of the accessibility of films now, online. I do feel like people will discover the things that are beautiful in their time.
'Obviously, I just hope, always, for the opportunity to keep making films. That's the only thing – I'm like, 'Oh, I hope they let me make another one.''
