Natalie Portman opens up about being sexualized as a child star: 'I felt very scared'

"I think there's a public understanding of me that's different from who I am. 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."

"I felt very scared by it. Obviously sexuality is a huge part of being a kid, but I wanted it to be inside of me, not directed towards me."

"I'm so studious. I'm smart, and that's not the kind of girl you attack. I was like, if I create this image of myself, I'll be left alone. It shouldn't be a thing, but it worked."

"As soon as someone mentions that they were a young actor, you start to look at them differently."

In a recent interview with Jenna Ortega for Interview magazine, Natalie Portman opened up about her experience of being sexualized at a young age in Hollywood. Portman, who debuted as a child actress in the R-rated film "Léon: The Professional," expressed her struggle with being perceived differently than she truly is. Despite feeling scared, she developed a strategy to protect herself by presenting as serious and smart. Ortega notes how the experiences of young actresses today are starkly different from those of earlier generations, highlighting a cultural shift in the industry.

Read at New York Post