Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman reveals being sexualised as a child actor changed her

Hollywood actress Natalie Portman was sexualised as a child. 

The Oscar-winning actress had revealed last January at the Women’s March that her first ever fan mail was a rape fantasy written by a man. This changed her. At an event talking about her upcoming film ‘Vox Lux’, Natalie opened up about the impact it had on her.

She said, "I understood very quickly, even as a 13-year-old, that if I were to express myself sexually I would feel unsafe and that men would feel entitled to discuss and objectify my body to my great discomfort."

She added, "I felt the need to cover my body and to inhibit my expression and my work in order to send my own message to the world that I'm someone worth of safety and respect.”

Natalie felt like that for the longest time when she was a teenager. Today, she feels she has come to terms with it and said,  "I know I was sexualized in the ways that I was photographed or portrayed, and that was not my doing. That becomes a part of your public identity.”

Natalie made her acting debut at the age of 13 in 1994 film ‘The Professional’. Today on December 26, 2018, she completed 25 years of being an actor. 

She will next be seen in ‘Vox Lux’ opposite Jude Law. The film tells the story of a pop star (played by her) who survived a school shooting as a young girl and is still dealing with the aftermath of the horrifying incident. On the character, she said, "She is such a wild character, but she's also someone I felt was a real person, who is the product of this life that has happened to her.”