Instead of getting dressed up and walking the red carpet, Natalie Portman opted to stay at home to study for her final exams (via BBC). She'd already been accepted to Harvard University, but it seems that Portman didn't get a case of senioritis and she worked her hardest until the very last moment of high school. In fall of 1999, she headed to Harvard where she majored in psychology and graduated in 2003 (via Study.com).
"I don't care if [college] ruins my career ... I'd rather be smart than a movie star," Portman said when she began college (via Vanity Fair). She made the most of her time at Harvard, working as a lab assistant and contributing to an academic article that was published in a scientific journal, per Study.com.
Portman's acting career blossomed after she graduated from Harvard. In 2005 she earned her first Oscar nomination for "Closer" and she went on to win the Best Actress Oscar for her role in "Black Swan" in 2011 and earn a second Best Actress nomination for "Jackie" in 2017 (via IMDb). Portman told Vanity Fair that her father encouraged her to enroll in grad school to pursue a career as a doctor or lawyer. However, she ultimately decided that acting was the right career for her.
"It took me a while, coming from that background [as a child actor before realizing], 'This is what I want, and this is what I love. I enjoy this," Portman explained.
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