Natalie Portman Is Not Happy About the Book That Is Maybe About Her

Might I introduce you to some literary world drama, because we can be classy too! (But only when it drifts into the pop-culture orbit). Everyone in the biz, from the highbrow critics to the low-brow gossip columnists (Hi), can agree on one thing: acclaimed novelist Rachel Cusk’s newest work is about Natalie Portman….And it’s not exactly a flattering picture.

Cusk’s novel Life of M, set for release on August 25, follows two women: the titular M, a famous actor, and an unnamed narrator who attempts to write M’s autobiography. The book, dubbed by the Telegraph as a “literary assassination,” begins: “A little while ago, I told the actor M that I was thinking of writing her autobiography. She liked the idea. She’s a good sport. Would you just make it up? she said.”

So why do people think the protagonist M is really Oscar-winning A-lister Natalie Portman?

• The character M gets her start as a child actor in a “Lolita-like role” that “immediately brought her childhood to an end,” according to the narrator. (see: Portman’s first film, Léon the Professional)
• She lives in an unnamed European city (Both Cusk and Portman live in Paris).
• She is a model for a major brand (Portman is a model for Dior)
• She played a ballerina in one of her major film roles (ummmm, hello!!!!)

Not only are Portman and Cusk friends in real life (In 2024, Portman selected Cusk’s novel Parade for her book club), but Cusk’s work also tends to blur the line between reality and fiction. In the novel, M is written as an out-of-touch celebrity who struggles to connect with real people. “She comes across in the novel as tense, myopic, alienated. Not so great in a crisis,” per Lit Hub. And (genuine spoiler alert!), the novel ends with the corrosion of their friendship: “The actress’s dissatisfaction and betrayal at the finished product, as recorded in the final pages of the book, is also said to be true to life,” wrote Valerie Stivers in UnHerd.

It didn’t take long for readers to start connecting the dots, and according to the Times, Portman is “outraged” and making attempts to distance herself from the conversation. I guess we will never know…But it certainly makes for a more exciting book club. 

• Shut up. Laura Dern and Nicole Kidman are hanging out. [Twitter]
• Barack Obama is apparently listening to a lot of Tyla and Zara Larsson this summer. [Twitter]
• Alexander Skarsgård is a wicker basket in the trailer for Wicker. [The A.V. Club]
• Someone stole a Nicholas Cage movie from the Netflix headquarters. [The Hollywood Reporter]
• North West canceled her tour. [Just Jared]
• Don’t click on this Forbes article about how much money Joe Rogan makes. It will only hurt you. [Forbes]

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