The Palm Springs International Film Festival has selected Natalie Portman for its Desert Palm Achievement Award for an Actress for her performance in “Jackie.”
Portman will receive the honor at the festival’s Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart, on Jan. 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
“Natalie Portman truly brings to life one of this country’s most treasured public figures in the acclaimed new film Jackie,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “Portman delivers a transformative and deeply human portrayal of the former First Lady following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, one of the most challenging moments in our nation’s history.”
Portman received the award in 2011 for her performance in “Black Swan” and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. Past recipients of the award include Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Sandra Bullock, Halle Berry, Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Naomi Watts.
“Jackie” is set in the days immediately following Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 as the former First Lady struggles to maintain her husband’s legacy. The film is directed by Pablo Larraín and also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Richard E. Grant, Caspar Phillipson, John Carroll Lynch, Beth Grant and Max Casella.
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Portman other film credits include “The Professional,” “Garden State,” “V For Vendetta,” “Goya’s Ghosts,” “The Other Boleyn Girl,” “No Strings Attached and the three prequels to the Star Wars trilogies. Portman also directed and wrote her first feature “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” which debuted at Cannes in 2015.
