The actor, director, and producer opens up about expecting her third child, returning to rom-coms, and the latest Miss Dior campaign.

Sitting in the sun-drenched grand salon of Château de La Colle Noire—Christian Dior’s residence in Grasse—Natalie Portman is in great spirits. Between sips of tea and bursts of laughter at the piercing calls of the estate’s famed white peacocks (“I love peacocks,” she exclaims), the 45-year-old actor and producer cradles her Dior-clad baby bump. Currently expecting her third child—her first with music producer partner Tanguy Destable—Portman reflects on her latest Miss Dior campaign, directed by French filmmaker Manu Cossu outside Paris and set to Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck Babe!”&nbsp;
“The place we shot was basically an entire city built to look like Paris, which was wild,” Portman tells L’OFFICIEL of the&nbsp;campaign clip, which features romance-fueled flashbacks interspersed with scenes of her browsing a flower market and strolling with an oversized bouquet. “I had never been to that kind of French studio before, and the streets had names like Rue Croissant. It was so cute—someone told me that there's a real Rue Croissant street in Paris, and I was like,&nbsp;I need to find that! It was also the first time I wore Jonathan Anderson’s dresses for a shoot, so that was really exciting.”&nbsp;
The face of Miss Dior since 2011, Portman’s pastel floral look in the film heralds a new chapter for the fragrance, whose bottle has also been reimagined through Jonathan Anderson’s evolving house codes. Available on August 6, the timeless floral chypre—which pairs Grasse rose absolute with creamy gourmand notes and soft woods—has been visually transformed, its signature dagger bow returning to the slender swallow’s tail silhouette of the 1947 Miss Dior perfume. Woven on a jacquard loom by France’s Ateliers Faure, the ribbon—offered in gray houndstooth, black-and-white grosgrain, denim blue, and pink tweed—reflects Dior’s commitment to craftsmanship. “Every aspect of the perfume is like couture,” says Portman. “It’s all hand-done, from the bow to the glass to the handpicked roses of the perfume itself.”&nbsp;
That legacy lives on nearby at Domaine Les Naÿssès, where Catherine Dior—who inspired the fragrance—cultivated May roses and jasmine after being imprisoned by the Nazis for her involvement with the French Resistance. Her flower fields are still harvested for Miss Dior Eau de Parfum today. “In the notes of the perfume, there’s depth as well as lightness,” says Portman. “I think that combination is eternal. We’re always going to live with darker things, and we’re always trying to find beauty in opposition to that.

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Here, Portman opens up about self-care during pregnancy, the stories she currently feels compelled to tell through her films, and working with Lena Dunham and Meg Ryan on the upcoming rom-com Good Sex.&nbsp;
L’OFFICIEL: When we spoke for last summer’s Miss Dior campaign, you mentioned that you had a more heightened sense of smell in the past when you were pregnant. And now, here we are! Is that the case this time around?&nbsp;
NATALIE PORTMAN: A hundred percent. [Laughs]
L’O: What would you say are the pros and cons of that?
NP: Well, I would guess that it exists evolutionarily…as, like, a warning signal. Because if there’s a gas leak, I'm like,&nbsp;There's gas! I smell gas! Or if something is on fire, I’m like, Smoke! Smoke! It's a constant.&nbsp;But then also there's the beauty of it, like when I walk past jasmine in the park, I'm like, This is amazing. This is the best day of my life. So, there are a lot of perks. It alerts you to danger and allows you to enjoy beauty even more.&nbsp;
L’O: As you gear up for life as a mom of three [Portman shares son Aleph, 15, and daughter Amalia, 9, with ex-husband Benjamin Millepied], what’s your self-care routine?&nbsp;
NP: I make sure to do something physical every day, whether it's walking a lot, or swimming, or Gyrotonics. I get a prenatal massage every couple of weeks and acupuncture about once a month. And I'm still on a vegan diet, so obviously supplementing with lots of vitamins. It's pretty simple. It's just been nice getting to hang with my kids and see art, be with my friends, and just enjoy this time.&nbsp;
L’O:&nbsp;You're also as busy as ever, with two films that you produced set for release this year. As a producer and director, is it hard to take off those metaphorical hats when you're on set for a shoot like the new Miss Dior campaign?&nbsp;
NP: No. When I'm not producing or directing, I really easily switch off. First of all, it's so much work that if you don't have to do it, why would you? [Laughs] Second of all, I really trust the people I work with, and part of that is not trying to manage them. So it's like, if that's not my role, that's not my role.&nbsp;
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L’O:&nbsp;You've been producing since 2009 and, in 2020, co-founded the internationally-minded, filmmaker-driven production company MountainA with Sophie Mas. What has surprised you most about working on that side of the industry?&nbsp;
NP: It's been a really great way to, kind of, grow up. Because you're protected from so many things as an actress or actor—in many ways it's wonderful, because you really get to create in this, like, ignorance of any problems. But when you're producing, you're aware of all the problems, all the time. I think the big lesson for me has been de-dramatizing, which is the opposite of what you do as an actress. So when there's a situation, you have to figure out how you can take the drama out of it—just find the problem, fix the problem, no drama. And keep it away from everyone else so that as few people need to know as possible.&nbsp;
L’O:&nbsp;When it comes to the projects you choose to produce, what kinds of stories feel most urgent for you to tell right now?&nbsp;
NP: I think there's a range of stories. First, I think historically underrepresented voices feel urgent, always. We should be reflecting a full spectrum of humanity, so where can we find those stories that we haven't had access to yet? Things that bring positivity and light right now also feel really urgent to me, because the world's a hard place. Recently we've really been focusing on comedies, because we just kind of want to bring joy. And then, as ever, [we look for] stories that expand your heart. Empathy is a practice, and it's something we do when we sit together in a movie theater. To encourage and facilitate that through powerful storytelling is always meaningful.&nbsp;
L’O:&nbsp;Later this year, The Gallerist comes out, which you produced and star in as a Miami-based gallerist. What was it like to delve into the notoriously high-stakes world of art?
NP: It was really so fun. I got to meet amazing gallerists and artists, and go to many of the fairs, which I had never experienced before. I think what surprised me was that I didn't realize how much art had become a commodity, and how hard it is for the people who are really there for their souls—like the artists who are creating expressions of themselves and the gallerists who are just so in love with art. They all have to contend with this market that treats artwork like a bar of gold, where it’ll be stored in a warehouse and traded to make a profit later. So much of this art just goes to the netherworld, to never be seen again. That was really surprising.&nbsp;
L’O: The film features an impressive ensemble cast, from Sterling K. Brown to Charli XCX. What was it like on set?&nbsp;
NP: It was incredible. Everyone was so wonderful—so kind, so professional, so talented, so fun. There was not a dud in the bunch. Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sterling K. Brown, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Zach Galifianakis, Charli [XCX]…I mean, every single one was so extraordinary. We had the best time.&nbsp;

L’O: You also produced and star in Good Sex, which is coming to Netflix this year. Written and directed by Lena Dunham, the film also co-stars rom-com royalty, Meg Ryan. What was it like working with both of them?
NP: It was a dream. Lena's just the greatest director. She's an extraordinary writer, she’s an extraordinary director, and she's an extraordinary actress…which never happens. I mean, very rarely—it's like her and Greta [Gerwig], maybe. But she's so kind and so generous with everyone. She's very nurturing and positive and so astute—she watches something and can really hone in on exactly what needs to change or how to make it better. It's just so fun to work with her; it was really a dream. And Meg Ryan is incredible. I grew up worshiping her, and now I worship her even more after getting to work with her. She's so, so talented, and so funny, and so smart. And also extremely kind, and someone you just want to hang out with.&nbsp;
L’O: Rom-coms are having a moment right now, which I take as yet another sign of what you were saying earlier, about people wanting lighter fare. And it feels quite fitting that you're starring in a sex-focused rom-com, 15 years after No Strings Attached came out. Why was this the right time for you to return to the genre?
NP: It wasn't super conscious, except I really wanted to work with Lena. I had written her after I saw her first movie, Tiny Furniture, almost 20 years ago [in 2010]. We had been talking since then about finding something together. So it was just her coming to me and being like, I've got the idea. I'm writing it. Let’s do this.&nbsp;

Natalie Portman Welcomes a New Era—For Herself and Miss Dior

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