The Story of M<\/em>, on Portman.<\/p>\nThe book tells the story of an author who asks her famous actress friend if she can write about her.<\/p>\n
\u201cA little while ago, I told the actor M that I was thinking of writing her autobiography. She liked the idea. She\u2019s a good sport,\u201d the story reportedly begins.<\/p>\n
The main character \u2014 known only as M \u2014 is a former child star who, at one point, is cast in a film about ballet (Portman won an Oscar for playing a ballerina in 2011\u2019s Black Swan<\/em>).<\/p>\nIt\u2019s hard not to notice the similarities, and insiders say Portman feels \u201cbetrayed\u201d and \u201coutraged\u201d and is attempting to \u201cdistance herself\u201d from the book.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s very identifiably a portrait of Natalie Portman that doesn\u2019t seem to recognize her as fully human, suggesting she\u2019s been subsumed by her own fame,\u201d one literary critic who\u2019s close to the situation told the Times<\/em>. <\/p>\n\u201cBut she seems one of the last actresses you\u2019d say that about, because she is highly intelligent and present. I think it dehumanizes her. Her not naming Portman is her way of pretending this is in the dominion of fiction, rather than her being a real person that you have responsibilities to.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the final pages of The Story of M<\/em>, the title character confronts the narrator.<\/p>\nM complains that her portrayal is \u201churtful\u201d and contains \u201cthings she herself didn\u2019t recognize\u201d about herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t you,\u201d the narrator pushes back. \u201cIt isn\u2019t anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is that Cusk\u2019s way of pre-empting claims that the main character was based on Portman? Or is she sincere in her assertion that there was no real-life inspiration for M?<\/p>\n
We may never know. But it sounds like Natalie has already reached her conclusion.<\/p>\n
The Story of M<\/em> is set to hit bookstores in August.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"Natalie](\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2215986296-1-1024x683.jpg\")