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Soccer Club Cofounder Natalie Portman on the Importance of Celebrating Female Athletes

The actress is part of a trio of women who established Los Angeles-based soccer club Angel City FC.

Cara O’Bleness

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman.

While many of us may recognize Natalie Portman as an Academy Award-winning actress, the Harvard grad is also the cofounder of the Los Angeles-based women’s soccer team, Angel City FC.

Portman recently opened up to People about the new team, which began competing last year, and the importance of supporting women in athletics.

The 41-year-old actress and her husband, choreographer Benjamin Millepied, share two children: a son, Aleph, and a daughter, Amalia. Portman noted that soccer is a great family pastime.

“I think that for all kids, it’s so influential to see female athletes be celebrated as they deserve. I mean, we grew up as girls being expected to idolize male athletes, and we did,” she told the outlet. “If you see excellence, you can be in awe of it no matter who is being excellent. So, I think that for all our kids, it really gives me tingles thinking about how different their world will be growing up with icons we have on our team.”

The team has a roster of celebrity investors, including Christina Aguilera, Sophia Bush, Lindsey Vonn, Mia Hamm and Candace Parker.

Angel City FC was defeated by Gotham FC by a score of 2-1 at its 2023 home opener Sunday. Next up, the team will play at the Orlando Pride on Sunday, April 2.

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Cara O’Bleness
CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, Cara loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University's School of Journalism.

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