Natalie Portman Says the Idea of a ‘Female Gaze’ Is ‘Reductive of Women’s Individuality’

Natalie Portman may be an outspoken feminist and co-founder of a female-driven soccer club (Angel City FC), but she isnt a believer in the so-called female gaze.

In an interview with Vanity Fair France for the magazines 10-year anniversary issue, conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Portman argued that to say that a female director has a particular gaze is reductive of womens individuality and points of view.

The Harvard-educated actor also said that gender isnt a factor when she chooses projects. Female directors should have the same opportunities as their male counterparts. But the experience of working with a director has to do with the individual and it doesnt relate to gender, Portman said.

Portman, who recently relocated to Paris with her husband Benjamin Millepied and their two children, also discussed her upcoming project May December, directed by Todd Haynes.

In May December (which she co-produced via her banner MountainA), Portman plays Elizabeth Berry, a famous actress preparing for a role who travels to Savannah to meet Gracie (Julianne Moore), a character loosely inspired by Mary Kay Letourneau. During her stay, Elizabeth develops ambivalent feelings towards Gracie and her 30-somethinghusband Joe, with whom she started having an unlawful relationship when he was 13.

Speaking of Haynes non-judgmental approach to the films polemical subject, Portman said he has an in-depth understanding of human behavior. His female characters are complex and multidimensional.

Portman was also questioned by Vanity Fair France about her experience making her film debut at the age of 11 in Luc Bessons Leon: The Professional. In the thriller, she plays Mathilda, a 12-year-old orphan, who develops a romantic bond with a hitman (Jean Reno). While she was quoted inThe Hollywood Reporterin May saying that there were some cringey, to say the least, aspects to the movie, she told the French mag that she has happy memories of the shoot. Everyone treated me like a kid and took care of me. Everyday was like my birthday, Portman said. Leon: The Professional, however, didnt make the cut as part of the tribute to Portman at the Deauville Film Festival last weekend.

Headed by Olivier Bouchara since Sept. 2021, Vanity Fair France has established a strong footprint and DNA in the local media landscape with a mix of celebrity interviews such as Portman, Cate Blanchett, Scarlet Johansson, Michael Douglas and Omar Sy, along with award-winning investigative stories. Some of their recent long-form features include theinside story of Moderna, the once-thriving biotech startup which had promised to deliver its COVID-19 vaccine before the first lockdown in March 2020.

Bouchara previously headed the investigative unit of the Conde Nast magazine and secured interviews with controversial figures embroiled in scandals, includingVjeran Tomic, a bulgar nicknamed Spider-Man who was jailed for stealing five 20th-century masterpieces from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. Hes also behind a series of bombshell articles about the flamboyant scammers who conned the EUcarbonquota system and swindled the French state of at least $1.7 billion. After his investigative series went viral, Bouchara went on to write Lords of Scam, one of Netflixs biggest French documentary hits to date.

Heres the 10-year anniversary cover of Vanity Fair France, featuring Natalie Portman photographed at the Bristol Hotel in Paris: