10 Hollywood Actors Names You Don't Really Know

Real Name: Natalie Hershlag

Born in Jerusalem to Jewish parents before moving to the US as a young child, Natalie Hershlag was named so by her father in homage to the 1964 song ‘Nathalie’ by French crooner Gilbert Bécaud.

After nabbing herself her breakthrough role as an orphaned hitman’s protégé in Luc Besson’s acclaimed thriller Léon: The Professional at the age of 12, the Israeli-American actress began going by the surname Portman – her paternal grandmother’s maiden name – to protect she and her family’s privacy.

Clearly that didn’t work out too well though, because here we are discussing her birth name openly.

Portman did go by Natalie Hershlag during her time studying at Harvard, however, in an effort to blend in anonymously with her fellow students and was credited with her real name back as a kid when she performed with World Patrol Kids – an environmentally conscious kids’ band that sang songs about the importance of being good to the planet. Bless.