Natalie Portman is apparently furious about a new novel that some believe is based on her life, sources claimed.
Speculation has been rampant about whether author Rachel Cusk raided Portman’s life for her upcoming book Life of M, in which the central character is a movie star whose life bears striking similarities to Portman’s.
The actress finds the comparisons unflattering because the character “M” in Cusk’s novel is portrayed as a cold, calculating, and self-absorbed star who finds almost everyone around her annoying.
Natalie Portman is reportedly furious over speculation that Rachel Cusk’s new novel is based on her life
Known to be fiercely private, Natalie Portman is far from amused about the similarities between herself and the lead character “M,” portrayed as a painfully self-absorbed Hollywood diva, in Rachel Cusk’s novel.
“Natalie is such a kind and warm person… The personality of the character bears absolutely no resemblance to her,” a source from Portman’s side told the Daily Mail.
“M” is a former child star, stars in a ballet movie, plays a famous political figure, and even lives in a European capital that sounds just like Paris, where both Cusk and Portman are currently living.
“Natalie is a very private person; that’s why she moved to Paris, so Rachel’s book, Life Of M, has really pis**d her off,” a Paris-based friend of the actress told the outlet.
“She thinks it is a real low blow and is horrified about the rumors she was in on the book in some way, which she certainly was not,” they continued. “The celebrity in the book is nothing like her; she is far from a diva; she is a quiet bookworm.”
Previously, Portman was a cheerleader for Cusk’s novels and gushed with praise when the author appeared as a guest on her book club podcast “Nat’s Book Club” in 2021.
The pair seemed to be friends, with Portman even raving about Cusk before the release of her 2024 book Parade.
Cusk’s mysterious movie star “M” shares striking similarities with Portman’s career and personal life
“Forever in awe of Rachel Cusk and the way she disrupts form and the conventions of storytelling,” Portman wrote on Instagram.
This makes the current speculation over Life of M all the more awkward because Portman is “big” on “girl power and sisterhood,” Portman’s friend told the outlet.
“So this is a gross violation of her code. She believes women’s bonds should be nurtured and not manipulated for commerce,” they added.
Cusk has not confirmed that M is based on Portman, and her novel is presented as fiction. Yet the parallels between the character and Portman’s life are hard to overlook.
M is introduced as the star of an advertising campaign in which she is “wreathed in pink flowers.”
Portman, who has been the face of luxury brand Christian Dior since 2010, has also appeared in numerous campaigns for the Miss Dior fragrance, surrounded by pink roses, peonies and other flowers.
Portman’s camp insists the fictional actress is “nothing like her” and calls the speculation a “gross violation”
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Like Portman, M became famous as a child actress, and her first script included several scenes where she was seen “wanting or inviting s*xu*l interaction with the central male character.” But they were ultimately cut out after her mom objected.
This echoes Portman’s early experience making Luc Besson’s 1994 film Léon: The Professional when she was just 11 and 12.
The movie saw her in a s*xu*lly ambiguous relationship with an adult hitman, played by French star Jean Reno, and it is known that Portman’s mother made demands about certain explicit scenes being cut from the movie.
Moreover, Portman has previously spoken about the s*xu*lization and harassment she experienced following the film, including being “sl*t-shamed.”
In Cusk’s novel, M was also called a “sl*t” and was bullied by other schoolkids.
Another suspiciously similar parallel is M’s appearance in a film about ballet.
Portman won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2011 for Black Swan, in which she played ambitious ballerina Nina Sayers. Even though she lands the lead role in Swan Lake, she becomes increasingly consumed by jealousy and paranoia over a rival.
M, too, is an actress who stars in a ballet film and struggles with her own jealousy toward another performer, who isn’t as beautiful as her but can act better.
Another detail in M’s life may remind Portman fans of her role in Jackie, the 2016 biographical drama in which she played former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
In Cusk’s novel, M visits a mansion-turned-museum belonging to an immensely wealthy and famous family because she’s cast to play one of the family members. The clan is described as “people of legend, all d**d now, but still famous for their style and passion and power.”
The fictional star is portrayed as cold, calculating, and disconnected from ordinary people
The similarities have led readers and literary observers to speculate that Portman is the real-life inspiration for M, despite Cusk making no official statement confirming the theory.
However, the bigger problem for Portman is allegedly the portrayal of M as a self-absorbed and alienated star.
She hides her irritation behind a smile when people cough or talk about themselves; she can be calculating and obsessive; and she cannot relate to ordinary people and their ordinary problems, unless she has played such a character onscreen. Because the bottom line is: she’s always performing.
Furthermore, M lives in a huge, impersonal home with an army of staff ready to take care of her every need. Her home is like a “big doll’s house, with her as a doll inside of it.”
But not everyone close to the situation believes the portrayal is completely off-base.
“’Natalie is known for having a tough exterior and being a bit difficult to get along with,”’ one source told the Daily Mail. “She’s particular and a perfectionist and has been in the industry forever.”
The same insider said motherhood softened the actress, who is aware that she isn’t “bothered” by not having “the best reputation.”
“Not everyone’s personality suits everyone in this world,” they said.
Cusk also doesn’t particularly have the best reputation in the business either, with many accusing her of not fictionalizing real people enough for her stories.
Portman is reportedly focusing on her pregnancy as she’s expecting her third child with Tanguy Destable
An initial print of her 2009 novel The Last Supper: A Summer In Italy was scrapped because one man threatened her with a lawsuit for breach of privacy, saying she hadn’t disguised him enough for her story.
Scottish writer Damian Barr, who reportedly didn’t know Cusk very well, complained in 2017, saying she had stolen his revelations about himself in his memoir to create her lead character in her novel Transit.
“Cusk’s veil of fiction is thin. Thinner than a thin thing. Diaphanous. Gossamer,” Barr previously said.
Portman, who is currently expecting a third child, will not be addressing Cusk’s book, one insider said.
She has two children with ex-husband Benjamin Millepied and is focusing on welcoming her third child with her partner and French electronic music producer Tanguy Destable.
“Natalie is trying to focus now on her pregnancy – she is due any moment – and be in the present with her boyfriend Tanguy, who grounds her,” the insider told the outlet. “She will not address the book and is writing it off as an unfortunate phase of her life.”
“I think writers are supposed to be crazy in this exact sort of way,” one commented online
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