Natalie Portman, the acclaimed actress known for her roles in Star Wars and Black Swan, was born to Avner Hershlag, an Israeli doctor and professor, and Shelley Stevens, an American artist and talent manager. Her parents have been instrumental in her career and personal development, with her mother serving as her manager from the early stages of her career.
Key Takeaways
- Natalie Portman's father, Avner Hershlag, is a professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive medicine at Stony Brook University and Hofstra University.
- Her mother, Shelley Stevens, was a housewife who later helped manage her daughter's career.
- Natalie Portman's parents met at Ohio State University.
- Natalie Portman and her parents are of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.
Meet Natalie Portman's Parents
Natalie Portman was born Natalie Hershlag (Neta-Lee Hershlag) on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel, to Shelley and Avner Hershlag. The family lived in Israel until Natalie was three or four years old, then moved to Maryland, United States. The Star Wars actress is an only child, which she credits as a factor in her Hollywood success. In a 2002 interview with Rolling Stone, she stated, "I would never have been an actress if I weren't an only child, because my parents would never have let me be the star of the family at the expense of another child."
Shelley and Avner Hershlag met at the Jewish student center at Ohio State University during the 1970s. When Avner returned to Israel, the couple continued a long-distance relationship. In an interview with the New York Post, Avner recalled, "We corresponded and talked on the phone, and when I say 'we,' it was more me than her."
Avner Hershlag
Full name: Avner Hershlag
Date of birth: June 1951
Age: 73 years as of May 2026
Place of birth: Israel
Profession: Reproductive specialist, professor, author
Avner Hershlag's parents immigrated from Poland and Romania in the 1930s. Mania (nee Portman) and Zvi Yehuda Hershlag made aliyah, the Jewish immigration to Israel. Some of Natalie's paternal relatives who remained in Europe were killed in the Auschwitz gas chambers. During a 2019 interview with Harper's BAZAAR, she shared, "My great-grandparents were killed in the camps, and my grandfather's younger brother was shot in Poland during the war." In her biography Natalie Portman: A Biography, she wrote, "I grew up with the Holocaust, because my grandparents lost their entire families... My grandfather's 14-year-old brother was also hidden, but one day, he couldn't take it anymore, and he ran outside and was shot."
Avner Hershlag completed his undergraduate and graduate education at Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem. He then finished three years of a general surgery residency at Hadassah before moving to the United States in 1984. There, he completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency at George Washington University Medical Centre, followed by a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Yale School of Medicine. According to his LinkedIn profile, his work in obstetrics and gynecology began in 1976 at Hadassah University Department of Surgery. During his residency at George Washington University, he served as administrative chief resident in 1984.
For nearly three decades, from 1990 to 2018, Avner Hershlag worked at North Shore University Hospital Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was also an attending physician at Northwell Health Facility. Between 2018 and 2019, he served as program director for the REI Fellowship. In 2019, he became Chief Medical Officer at Modern Fertility. Until 2020, he worked as attending physician at New York Reproductive Wellness and Plainview and Syosset Hospitals. Currently, Natalie Portman's father works as attending physician at Stony Brook Medicine's Island Fertility and is a professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive medicine at Zucker School of Medicine, Hofstra University. From 2021 to the present, Dr. Hershlag also serves as a professor at Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University.
Shelley Stevens
Full name: Shelley Stevens Hershlag
Date of birth: June 9
Place of birth: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Profession: Artist, talent agent
Natalie Portman's mother, Shelley Stevens Hershlag, was born on June 9, the same day as her daughter. She was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. According to the Jewish Press, Shelley's parents, Bernice and Arthur 'Art' Stevens (formerly Edelstein), moved to the United States from Austria and Russia. Her parents and maternal grandparents migrated to the U.S. before the Holocaust. According to the Jewish Women's Archive, Shelley Stevens became her daughter's talent manager early in her career. Portman has credited both parents with keeping her grounded. In a 2016 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she said, "I've never seen disappointing behavior from them... Neither of my parents was ever involved financially at all in my career, at all. They were just very much parents, protective parents who didn't want me exploited."
FAQs
Is Natalie Portman American or Israeli? The famous Gemini holds dual citizenship and is Israeli-American.
Is Natalie Portman close to her parents? Portman has maintained closeness with her parents, both personally and professionally.
Are Natalie Portman's parents still alive? Avner and Shelley Hershlag are alive at the time of this writing.
Where are Natalie Portman's parents from? Natalie's father, Avner Hershlag, was born and raised in Israel, while her mother was born in Cincinnati, United States.
Are Natalie Portman's parents still married? Avner Hershlag and Shelley Stevens have been married since before Natalie was born in 1981.
Can Natalie Portman speak Arabic? The multilingual actress speaks English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, and Hebrew and is reported to have studied spoken Arabic.
Does Natalie Portman have any siblings? The Avengers: Endgame actress is an only child.
Is Natalie Portman's father a doctor? Avner Hershlag is a fertility specialist.
What is Avner Hershlag's educational background? He attended Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem and later completed studies at George Washington University Medical Centre and Yale School of Medicine.
Natalie Portman's parents, Avner Hershlag and Shelley Stevens, are known for their steadfast support and dedication to their daughter. This is evident in Portman's success as an A-list actress, filmmaker, advocate, model, and psychologist. Avner Hershlag is a fertility expert, and Shelley is an artist and Portman's manager.
