By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
April 20, 1999
Vanity Fair‘s May cover girl is Natalie Portman, 17, who stars as Queen Amidala in the “Star Wars” prequel “The Phantom Menace.” Leslie Bennetts’ story presents Portman as a serious high school senior with a grade-point average of 99 (out of 100). The actress excels in her advanced placement classes (which include calculus), takes Japanese lessons and has been accepted for early enrollment at Harvard and Yale universities.
The daughter of an Israeli-born doctor and a housewife, Portman says in the article, “I’m a little obsessive-compulsive . . . My parents have always stressed education over success, over money, over everything. I grew up reading over my father’s shoulder, watching him study for his exams. I have a strong work ethic, and my parents have also passed down a love of learning to me. I really enjoy it; that’s why I do well.”
The article also states that because her parents actually read her scripts and won’t allow her to “simulate anything on-screen that she hasn’t already experienced in her own life,” they have earned a bum rap as being difficult.
Designer Isaac Mizrahi, who used Portman as the muse for his “Isaac” ad campaign, says, “They value her, and they weren’t going to let her go down the scary path so many actresses go down. I think that’s why Natalie feels lighthearted; she feels cared for. I think her parents are doing everything right. She’s sort of a miracle, that she hasn’t become this egomaniacal little (brat) like the kid stars you hear about. She was an absolute dream to work with.”
You can’t fault the show business glossies for putting a glam star like Portman on its cover.
But Time opted for a “Star Wars” cover as well. The difference, of course, is that Time is a newsmagazine and there’s no mention of the fighting in Kosovo anywhere on this week’s cover.
Newsweek, at least, blurbed its story “Kosovo: The Casualties of War” on a corner of this week’s cover. But the eye is drawn less to that than to the dominant headline, “Who were the First Americans?” – a scientific study that debates whether Native Americans are the descendants of the original Americans.
The May issue of Chicago features the 24 top places to eat in the city. “Though dining fashions tend to come and go before you can say, `Check, please,’ one culinary standard remains as rock-solid as the Alps,” write Dennis Ray Wheaton and Anne Spiselman. “French restaurants are the pinnacle of haute excellence. Our critics’ list of the best new provides undeniable proof that under the most talented toques in town are souffle-serving, truffle-tallying, foie gras-friendly Francophiles.”
The critics’ picks include Always Thai, Aubriot, McCormick & Schmick’s and MK. But our favorite – that’s also one of Chicago magazine’s Top 24 – is the new Japanese restaurant Sushi Wabi.
“Charmed” star Alyssa Milano gives a frank interview to Details magazine. The newlywed says in the April issue that ever since she accidentally walked in on her parents making love, she had a relaxed view on sex. (By the way, she was 4 when the incident occurred.) Producer Aaron Spelling, who hired Milano for both her current series as well as a stint on “Melrose Place,” says in the article, “Sexuality is women with huge breasts sticking up. Alyssa has something else – virginal sensuality.” Milano says the only time she felt awkward about her body was during her growing pains on “Who’s the Boss”: “It’s hard enough to go through puberty. Everyone’s embarrassed about their youth, but it just happens that the ’80s were particularly disgusting.”
