Natalie Portman's work ethic and achievements, both in education and in acting, have been nothing short of phenomenal. Achieving excellence in both fields, she's compromised on neither, and her resume must make for fascinating reading. Portman was already famous as a teenager, having worked on the film 'Leon: The Professional' when she was thirteen. She knew she wanted to be an actor but had high educational goals and was determined not to drop the ball on them.
She was so serious about getting qualifications that she missed the premiere of her 'Star Wars' movie so she could study for her final high school exams. While at Harvard, she studied psychology, and has been cited for her work on the role of the frontal lobe in memory, as well as a research paper on how to derive hydrogen from sugar. She's also been a guest lecturer at Columbia University on the topic of counter-terrorism, and speaks English, French, Japanese, Arabic and German. How does she do it all?
Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.
Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.
Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.