Natalie Portman Missing The Oscars Due To Pregnancy

Natalie Portman, due date quickly approaching in her third trimester, will not be attending the Oscars tonight because of her pregnancy. News of her absence came through a statement released late Saturday.

“Due to my pregnancy, I am unable to attend the Independent Spirit Awards and the Academy Awards. I feel so lucky to be honored among my fellow nominees and wish them the most beautiful of weekends.”

The 35-year-old actress is pregnant with her second child. Natalie and husband Benjamin Millepied welcomed their son Aleph into their lives about five and a half years ago. Portman is nominated for her performance in Jackie this year. It’s her third Academy Award nomination. Her other nominations were for the movie Black Swan in 2010 and for Closer in 2004. Black Swan was a truly life-changing movie for Natalie. Not only did she win an Oscar for the movie in 2010, but it was also on the set of that film that she met her husband who worked as a choreographer on the project. Portman makes great efforts to keep her private life private, so it isn’t known exactly when the two wed, but it is believed to be right around the time Aleph was born.

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Although her absence is understandable given her advanced stage of pregnancy, there were indications that Natalie was making an effort to attend the Oscars if possible. Us Weekly reports that she had asked her stylist to make some dress selections for her and had asked her hair and makeup team to standby in case she did attend. Natalie did attend the Golden Globes back in January wearing a widely praised bright yellow Prada gown and the SAG Awards at the end of January wearing a loose-fitting white Dior Haute Couture dress.

E! Online reports that Natalie Portman was also nominated this year for an Independent Spirit Award. That nomination is also for Jackie. Women nominated alongside Portman for the ISA Best Female Lead were Annette Benning for 20th Century Women, Sasha Lane for American Honey, Isabelle Huppert for Elle, and Ruth Negga for Loving. That award ceremony was held last night, and the category was won by Isabelle Huppert.

Nominated alongside Portman for the Academy Award for Best Actress are Huppert and Negga as well as Meryl Streep for Florence Foster Jenkins and Emma Stone for La La Land. Jackie, which was directed by Pablo Larrain, has also been nominated for Best Feature Film, Best Editing, Best Score, and Best Costume Design. In the film, Natalie portrays Jackie Kennedy’s life in the days following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy.

Take a look back at nominee #NataliePortman's best style through the years as she will be skipping the #Oscarshttps://t.co/3tXR9ArVEv pic.twitter.com/PJonfGCntu

— ET Canada (@ETCanada) February 26, 2017

In an interview with The Guardian, Portman compared the political climate following the assassination of John F. Kennedy to that of today. Of Jackie she said,

“It certainly has taken on different meanings because of the context we’ve landed in, which was completely unexpected and unpredictable. Noah Oppenheim, who wrote the script, has been saying that it shows our country has been through many difficult times, and we’ve managed to pull through and come out the other end of the tunnel.”

Natalie added this about the election of Donald Trump.

“… I do think it is a very upsetting moment because of the way he has spoken about women, about minorities, about immigrants. I don’t think that kind of discriminatory speech or behavior is helpful to bringing people together in a positive way.”

Natalie Portman has 52 acting credits to her name. In addition to her Oscar for Black Swan, Portman also received a Golden Globe award and a BAFTA award.

[Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]