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Natalie Portman Opens Up About Feeling ‘Scared’ Being S*xualized as Child Actor; Calls It ‘Long Lolita Phase’
Natalie Portman opens up about being sexualized as a child actor in Hollywood and shares the steps she took to protect herself from it.
Natalie Portman has opened up about being sexualized at a young age in Hollywood, calling it a 'long Lolita phase' she tried to escape. In a new interview with Jenna Ortega for Interview magazine, Portman reflected on the challenges she faced as a child actor.
“I’ve talked about it a little before, about how, as a kid, I was really sexualized, which I think happens to a lot of young girls who are onscreen,” she said. “I felt very scared by it.”
Natalie Portman was just 12 years old when she landed her breakout role in Léon: The Professional. She shared that the way the industry treated her influenced her behavior, stating that while sexuality is a natural part of growing up, she wanted it to be something personal to her, not something imposed on her.
Portman described how the film industry pushed her into certain stereotypes throughout her career. “At each phase in my career, there was a different one that I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to avoid this,’” she told Jenna Ortega. “Obviously there was a long Lolita phase. Then there was the long ‘chick who helps the guy realize his emotional thing’ phase for about a decade.”
She added that she often had to work hard to avoid being placed into those roles, stating that the public’s perception of her was different from who she really was. She said she had spent her entire career trying to push back against those industry tropes.
Portman also shared how she learned to protect herself at a young age. Speaking on the Smartless podcast last year, she said that projecting a serious image helped shield her, acting almost like a warning to others not to mess with her. She shared that she portrayed herself as studious and smart, believing that this wasn't the kind of girl people would target.
Creating that image, she thought, would help keep her safe, and while she acknowledged it shouldn’t have to be that way, it proved effective. Portman also credited her mother for always being present on set to make sure she was protected.
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