Cover Natalie Portman for Miss Dior Essence (Photo: Dior Beauty)
Natalie Portman for Miss Dior Essence (Photo: Dior Beauty)
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The Oscar-winning actress reflects on scent, storytelling and her enduring bond with Dior
For 15 years, Natalie Portman has been the face of Miss Dior, embodying a fragrance that has come to symbolise both femininity and strength.
What began as a daunting collaboration, she recalls, has grown into something far more intimate: a family-like relationship with the House of Dior, one that has accompanied her through life’s milestones.
As Dior unveils Miss Dior Essence, Portman reflects not only on the fragrance itself but also on the memories and associations that scent can hold. She describes the new perfume in three words: “floral, feminine, bold,” and says it carries “this childlike feeling of spring, romance, flowers, and that memory of what it is like to be young, free, wild and in love.”
Jasmine, in particular, stirs vivid recollections. “Jasmine brings a lot of memories to me. I went to North Africa in my early 20s and shot Star Wars Episode II in Tunisia, and later on travelled to Morocco by myself. In the markets, kids would come up to me with handfuls of jasmine.”
Fragrance has also been a way for her to deepen her craft as an actress. She shares: “Many actors get into character by scent, and it can sometimes be very helpful. I had a rose scent for Black Swan. On Star Wars, because we shot in North Africa, the scent of jasmine was very present.”
Beyond fragrance, Portman is immersed in new creative ventures. With her production company alongside Sophie Mas, she is nurturing diverse voices while taking on roles that challenge the balance between art and commerce. Upcoming projects include The Gallerist, set in the high-stakes art world, and Arco, an animated feature she calls “the birth of a Miyazaki.”
In conversation, Portman returns often to books, ideas and scents—anchors of a life devoted to art and meaning. Much like Miss Dior Essence, her words carry the sense of renewal: of beauty and strength blooming again, season after season.
Above Natalie Portman has been the face of Miss Dior for 15 years
Natalie Portman has been the face of Miss Dior for 15 years
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You have been the face of Miss Dior for 15 years now… How has your relationship with the House and the fragrance evolved throughout the years?
I felt much more intimidated by it at the beginning, but working with Dior for so long, the team has really become like a family and I am much more at ease now. They were with me before I had kids and as I’ve gotten older and gone through different periods of my life. The Miss Dior character has grown as I have grown.
Can you describe Miss Dior Essence in three words?
Floral, feminine, bold.
How much of yourself do you inject in the Miss Dior character? Or is she shaped on you like a handmade dress?
The character was definitely created by the Miss Dior team, but since it is associated with me as a person, some of it is based on who I am. The main inspiration comes from Catherine Dior, who was the original Miss Dior for her brother Christian. The energy of her spirit is the inspiration for what the character is: a courageous, strong, bold, free, liberated woman who stands up for justice.
Read more: Caroline Low-Heah’s love for old glamour led her to discover Christian Dior
Francis Kurkdjian, the Perfume Creation Director at Dior, is so poetic when he talks about perfume. He has a story for every fragrance he creates…
He is indeed a poet of scent. Our conversations always remind me of how magical the sense of smell is. It’s the sense of childhood, the first thing that you pay attention to. That attention then tends to fade as visuals, voices and music take up a more and more prominent place in our lives as we grow, but it was so interesting, during Covid, how many of the people who had lost their sense of smell described how they couldn’t feel at home anymore. The attraction between people also owes a lot to this unconscious sense of smell.
Books are very important in your life. You even created your own book club to share your latest reads and literary discoveries… How do you choose what to read, and what do you look for in a book?
I take a lot of recommendations from friends. I really like language, so writers who pay particular attention to what words they use appeal to me. I also do tend to care more about stories told by women—I am more drawn to and moved by women protagonists.
Can you describe your ideal reading experience?
Alone in the house, in bed, with nothing to do all day. Or alone on a plane.
What’s the classic you recently read and loved?
I read Great Expectations last year for the first time because my son was reading it for school, and it’s amazing. I can’t believe I hadn’t read it before.
Above Portman also shares that the “Miss Dior character has grown” as she has over the years
Portman also shares that the “Miss Dior character has grown” as she has over the years
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What drew you to creating your production company with your friend and now collaborator Sophie Mas?
First of all, it was an amazing opportunity to work with someone as incredible as Sophie. She has such great taste and is so good at her job. She’s an incredible person to work with. And she’s a dear friend whom I love spending time with. It’s also nice to be able to create the kinds of things I want to make and not be passively waiting for interesting projects to show up. Having worked for 30 years now in this industry, I know there are periods where you get very fulfilling projects offered to you, and times when you don’t. So, it’s nice to be creating things for myself, while also supporting talent that we believe in. It is a true reward, at this stage of my career, to get a chance to support up-and-coming voices or more established ones, using all the skills and relationships Sophie and I have nurtured over these decades working to help artists we love make their visions come true.
Can you talk a little bit about Arco, one of your exciting new projects?
Arco is the first feature from a young French animation director called Ugo Bienvenu. He is such a beautiful artist and has a very important voice in animation, it feels like the birth of a Miyazaki. The story is also very touching: it is about kids figuring out how to take care of the planet through time travel.
What about The Gallerist, the Cathy Yan movie you also produced and star in?
The movie is set in the art world and is about what happens when you compromise your art. It is about the classic battle between art and commerce and the slippery slope of making concessions to your artistic integrity. I play a gallerist, and I’m surrounded by an incredible cast: Jenna Ortega, Zach Galifianakis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Da’vine Joy Randolph, Sterling K. Brown…
You played a major role in the creation of ‘Time’s Up’ in the wake of the ‘Me Too’ movement. Can you talk a little bit about the state of things for women in Hollywood today?
It’s been an incredible part of my life experience to get to be part of ‘Time’s Up’ with so many amazing colleagues. I built friendships and working relationships that continue till today. When we created ‘Time’s Up’ in 2018, it was the first time women in our industry came together. For the first ten years of my career, I was the only woman on set except for hair and makeup, and I had a lot of girlfriends outside my work but I didn’t know any women in my industry. We were so often kept apart and pitted against each other because of the scarcity of interesting roles. So, it was such an incredible moment to all talk, share experiences and information, be friends and support each other. We talked about what we could ask for in our contracts, about money, about who’s a good person to work with or not, about the importance of taking leadership roles in producing and directing, of speaking up and being a leader on set as an actress, of reaching out to younger actresses and being a support system for each other… We still have those friendships and reach out to each other and gather all the time. About the film industry, I think it’s changed a little but there’s still a very long way to go.
Andrea Saadan is the Senior Digital Editor of Tatler Singapore. She oversees all digital content for the website and currently leads the Beauty and Lifestyle verticals. As a child, she had always enjoyed reading and writing but it was only after she joined her college newspaper, The Spectrum, in Buffalo, New York, that she considered a career in journalism. Her love for all things beauty started from the age of two—when she was caught playing with (and damaging) her mother’s YSL lipstick. On top of her day job, she is also an unpaid beauty consultant for friends and family. Besides make-up, her obsessions include the wizarding world of Harry Potter, podcasts, ice-cream, her walking pad and watching endless re-runs of The Office (US).
