As a mom of two, Natalie Portman has her hands full. Even though she juggles her busy Hollywood career on top of parenting with husband Benjamin Millepied, the Black Swan star always finds a way to prioritize her two kids, Aleph and Amalia.
“When I’m not working, I’m pretty much exclusively with my family, so my rituals have to do with school, meal preparation, playdates [and] bedtime,” she told The New York Times Magazine in 2016. “Weekends are the best for ritual, because I own them completely. I do the whole week’s laundry, which I love, because it’s a task with a clear beginning and end. And we spend the week together as a family.”
Natalie has gotten the hang of parenting since becoming a mom in 2011. At the time, the Léon: The Professional actress and Ben welcomed their eldest son, Aleph. The couple, who married the following year in 2012, then welcomed their daughter, Amalia, in 2017.
Though Natalie still struggles with balancing her day-to-day duties at times, she believes motherhood actually taught her to be “much calmer” under pressure. “There’s that weird parent thing you develop, that when things get really bad, your voice gets calm and your blood pressure slows, and you can make everything OK again,” she explained to the outlet.
In addition, the Closer star revealed motherhood improved her life altogether. “I’m less judgmental than before I had a kid,” she told The Telegraph in 2013, noting how her children have inspired her new outlook.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is that parenting is a totally different experience for every single person,” she shared. “Everything is cool, there are no rules — I mean, apart from not hurting your kid. Some people breastfeed until their babies are five, and some don’t breastfeed at all. There are no rules about what it means to be a feminist or a good mother. For some, it’s going to be right to go back to work, for others it’s going to be right to stop working completely.”
When it comes to motherhood, though, there is one guideline Natalie likes to live by. “Give yourself a break,” the Thor actress told British Vogue in 2016. “We all hold ourselves to such a high standard and it’s a constant balancing act. I also think it’s important to carve out time for yourself. It’s easy to forget that but it’s so important.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Natalie’s kids, Aleph and Amalia!
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