Natalie Portman, known for her roles in films like Black Swan, had a unique experience growing up. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the 42-year-old actress revealed that she didn’t like it when her classmates called her by her stage name, “Portman,” instead of her real name, Natalie Hershlag.

“I got very protective of it very early on. I chose a different name when I started, which was kind of an interesting way that I separated identities,” Portman shared. She made her film debut at 13 years old, starring as Mathilda in the movie Léon: The Professional.

If someone at school called her “Natalie Portman,” she would become upset. “I felt like it was not accepting that both were part of me, that there wasn’t a ‘real’ me and a ‘pretend’ me, and that they didn’t necessarily have different names,” Portman explained. She believed that all the different versions of herself, the public and private personas, were equally important and should be embraced.

As an adult, Portman has worked to integrate these different aspects of her identity and overcome the divide she felt between her stage name and her real name. She now recognizes that she has many interactions as a public person and that excluding that part of her experience would not be genuine.

Portman’s perspective on this matter shifted when she became a mother. She shares two children, Aleph (12) and Amalia (6), with her husband, French choreographer Benjamin Millepied. Parenthood made her see the importance of embracing all aspects of herself, including her public persona.

“I have many interactions during my day as a public person. To exclude that from my experience is not real,” Portman said.

Throughout her journey, Natalie Portman has learned to embrace all the different facets of her identity and understands the significance of integrating them into her life.