Last night, I had the incredible honor of kicking off the Streicker Center's "Women Inspiring Women" series by introducing Natalie Portman in a digital event that had over 8,000 RSVPs.
Temple Emanu-El is proud to celebrate some of today’s most accomplished women for conversations about the women who have served as their inspirations and heroines in a series of events that will take place in Winter and Spring of 2021.
The series began with one of the world’s leading actresses, Neta-Lee Hershlag, who most know by her American name, Natalie Portman. Born in Jerusalem and raised on Long Island, Natalie Portman made 11 films before she turned 20.
You may know her from Black Swan, Jackie, V for Vendetta, Anywhere But Here, Garden State (which is my favorite), and the list goes on. But her focus has always been clear:
She skipped the premiere of her first Star Wars film because she was taking her high school final exams. Throughout her career, directors and producers have flexed to work around her school schedule. “I’d rather be smart than a movie star,” she has said.
Well, she has managed to be both! Portman is a Harvard graduate who squeezed in a Broadway performance of Chekhov’s Seagull between college semesters and has become an acclaimed movie star--She is the winner of an Oscar and two Golden Globe Awards.
As a fine jewelry designer myself, I appreciate her work as a fashion and luxury icon—She is Miss Dior.
In addition to her celebrity, she is also an effective and inspiring activist. She has said: “I'm trying to use whatever attention is focused on me and divert it to something that really deserves the attention.”
Portman has traveled across Africa and South America to promote micro-lending to help women open small businesses to lift themselves out of poverty. She’s worked with WE Charity on their Power of the Girl Campaign. She has been a vocal supporter of the #MeToo Movement and Times Up. She spoke at the 2017 Women’s March.
If that were not enough, Portman is also a bestselling author. Last fall, she released "Natalie Portman’s Fables", her modern retelling of three classic fables that have been reshaped and regendered to reflect contemporary reality.
Actress, activist, author, as well as every 35-year-old’s celebrity crush--It was such an incredible honor to introduce Ms. Natalie Portman last night.
Watch a replay of the event below:
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