Natalie Portman is making headlines again…but not for what you’d think. The streets are saying that the Oscar winner might be the muse behind Rachel Cusk’s upcoming novel, Life of M, which follows an unnamed writer in a European city who takes on the challenge of writing an autobiography for her famous friend. Eventually, the story unravels some ugly truths about the fictional A-lister, who internet sleuths and insiders speculate might be inspired by Natalie’s real-life behind-the-scenes.
The book officially hits shelves on August 25 (yep, it isn’t even out yet!), but there’s already a ton of controversy surrounding its contents. None of this has been explicitly confirmed to be about the Black Swan star, but let’s dive into the speculation and see what it’s all about.
Natalie has previously praised Rachel’s work
Let’s take it back to 2021, when Natalie first selected Rachel’s book, Second Place, as one of her Nat’s Book Club picks and had her as a guest on her accompanying podcast.
During a 2023 interview with GQ, the actor gushed about being “starstruck” by Rachel when they first met, saying, “I get really starstruck by writers. I got to meet Rachel Cusk recently, and Deborah Levy, and I get really in awe of them, because writing beautifully is just, like, the greatest gift.”
She remained a fan of Rachel’s years later, making another one of her books, Parade, her book club pick in 2024.
Rachel and Natalie both live in Paris
The actor moved to Paris back in 2014 when her ex, Benjamin Millepied, became the director of the Paris Opera Ballet, while The Atlantic reports that Rachel relocated to Paris in December 2020 to secure residency rights in the European Union.
Despite their proximity, sources recently told the Daily Mail that Natalie and Rachel “are not, and have never been, close friends,” and “have seen each other only a few times” around the city.
M shares a lot of similarities with Natalie
What’s more: M and the unnamed writer in Cusk’s novel both live in an undisclosed European city that appears to be the City of Lights. And that’s not the only thing she and the (semi?) fictional character have in common.
According to multiple reports, M bears a lot of similarities to Natalie, including her filmography: “a film about a young girl chosen for a starring role in a ballet” (Black Swan), a movie made by “a director who has a new film showing in the new mainstream cinemas” (Vox Lux), and another that “originally included several scenes in which the child was shown wanting or inviting sexual interaction with the central male character” (Léon: The Professional). The writer also refers to M, who owns “two big dogs” like Natalie IRL, as a model for a major brand. Perhaps that’s a nod to Natalie being Dior’s celebrity ambassador since 2010?
Former The New York Times staff book critic Molly Young reported that she’d “heard through the publishing grapevine that there was an ‘insane’ legal situation” surrounding the novel, adding that details of the situation have remained under wraps. “Was unable to obtain specifics about the nature of the insanity but believe me, I tried.” Yikes.
Sources claim Natalie is “pissed” about Rachel’s book
So…how does Natalie feel about all this? While the actor hasn’t weighed in herself, a source with knowledge told Vanity Fair that while she “has made no secret that she has historically been a fan of Rachel’s writing…they do not have a deep friendship or much of a relationship at all.”
The anonymous source doubled down in their defense, saying that M’s characteristics are nothing like the real-life actor’s aside from their eerily similar film roles.
“Natalie maintains a very private and normal down-to-earth life in Paris,” the source added. “The idea that this is supposed to be her is laughable….Her friends are pretty enraged as the depiction of M has so little resemblance to Natalie outside of the résumé.”
Other sources separately told the Daily Mail that Natalie’s team has “quietly argued” that she’s “been the victim of a cynical marketing campaign by publishers to sell the book by kicking up a sexy story about how it has torn apart best.”
One of the actor’s Paris-based friends also told the outlet, “Natalie is a very private person, that’s why she moved to Paris, so Rachel’s book, Life Of M, has really pissed her off. She thinks it is a real low blow and is horrified about the rumors she was in on the book in some way, which she certainly was not. The celebrity in the book is nothing like her, she is far from a diva, she is a quiet bookworm.”
They continued, “Natalie is big on girl power and sisterhood, so this is a gross violation of her code. She believes women’s bonds should be nurtured and not manipulated for commerce,” adding that Natalie is focusing on her pregnancy and she “will not address the book and is writing it off as an unfortunate phase of her life.”
