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Natalie Portman Says She Endured 'Long Lolita Phase' While Being Sexualized as Child Star: 'I Felt Very Scared'

Natalie Portman reflected on navigating Hollywood from a young age and how she protected herself while being 'really sexualized' as a child star. 'My way of protecting myself was to be like, 'I’m so serious. I’m so studious. I’m smart, and that’s not the kind of girl you attack.''

Fountain of Youth actress Portman, who stars opposite Ortega, 22, in the upcoming movie The Gallerist, said her "way of protecting myself" at the time was to portray herself as "so serious. The Wednesday star also said during the Interview discussion that "there’s something really, really heartwarming but also simultaneously devastating anytime I speak to actresses from previous generations, just because their experience is so jarringly different." "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," she said at the time.

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