Natalie Portman is officially a Parisian now, I guess. That might explain why we’re rarely getting pap photos of her these days. Natalie’s husband Benjamin Millepied took a job as director of ballet at the Paris Opera, and they moved their family to Paris for a few years (at least). Natalie gave a new interview to the Wisconsin Gazette to promote her Miss Dior contract, and she ended up saying a few words about how much she loves Paris and how chic everyone is:

Her French destiny: “I think it was destiny that brought me to live in France. My father named me Natalie as an homage to a song by (legendary French singer) Gilbert Bécaud. I shot my first film with French director Luc Besson. And now I’m living in Paris with my French husband and our son and immersing myself in the language and culture. It’s very inspiring to live in Paris, I feel very lucky.”

How her life has changed since moving to Paris: “It’s so interesting to plunge into another culture and experience a different way of living. The city is so rich in terms of the architecture, the bookshops you find at every corner, the way everyone dresses so well. No Parisian ever walks around in shorts and even the children look very chic (laughs).

Is she fluent in French? “It’s improved a lot and I’ve been taking lessons and studying as often as I can. I feel I’m getting to the point where I’m slowly becoming more comfortable speaking French and being fluent in the language. I’m hoping that one day I will be able to work in a French film and do the role in French. I would really love to be able to do that, and I’m very motivated to get to that level.

[From The Wisconsin Gazette]

She sounds happy. I’m a little bit surprised that she did uproot her family to go to Paris for Benjamin’s work, but then again, it IS Paris. It’s not like Benjamin took a job in Dullsville, Middle America. And I’m sure their son Aleph will benefit greatly from living in another country for years during his childhood.

As for this: “Everyone dresses so well. No Parisian ever walks around in shorts and even the children look very chic.” Really? No Parisian ever wears shorts? I don’t wear shorts either but that’s mostly because I don’t have the legs for shorts. But there are high-fashion shorts by French designers, oui?

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.