Natalie Portman was on the set of her very first movie when she turned 12 years old.
The 1994 film, titled Léon: The Professional, followed Natalie Portman as Mathilda, a 12-year-old girl who is taken in by a professional assassin after her family is murdered.
It was a turning point for the young actress. After Léon: The Professional, Portman didn't have to go to auditions anymore. Instead, countless producers approached her with potential roles and scripts.
Watch: At 13 years old, Natalie Portman opened her first piece of fan mail. Post continues below.
But as the teenager landed roles in the likes of Beautiful Girls, which followed a middle-aged man who has a crush on her young character, she garnered a new type of attention.
From the age of 12 years old, Natalie Portman was "sexualised" in the public eye.
Speaking on Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard, the now 39-year-old shared that the public reaction to her earliest film roles was difficult to handle as a teenager.
"I was definitely aware of the fact that like, I was being portrayed — like mainly in the kind of journalism around when the movies would come out — as this Lolita figure and stuff," she shared.
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