Natalie Portman has teamed up with Free The Children to launch The Power of a Girl, an initiative to spread the word about educating girls in developing nations.

“With women comprising 70 percent of the world’s poor, investing in the education of girls is one of the best ways to end the cycle of poverty,” Nat said. “I’m thrilled to be working with Free The Children and excited to see the ways in which youth throughout North America and the U.K. will be able to help send girls to school in Kenya, bringing them one step closer to achieving their dreams.”

From now until May 1, young people aged 13-21 are encouraged to raise funds for Kisaruni, Free The Children’s new all-girls’ secondary school in Kenya. Finalists will be chosen in May and asked to share why they think it’s important to empower girls through education.

The winner will take home Natalie’s Rodarte dress from the AFI Fest premiere of Black Swan and the chance to travel to Kenya over the summer!

Her commercial for Miss Dior Chérie, which premiered a few years back, is still a favorite of beauty and fashion fans, and it looks as if Dior wants to repeat this success. Filmmaker Sofia Coppola was spotted shooting with Natalie Portman (the new face of Dior perfumes) in Paris this week, prompting rumors that Coppola is the creative force behind the luxury label’s new fragrance campaign. Coppola has previously starred in ads for fellow LVMH brand, Louis Vuitton, whose creative director, Marc Jacobs she is close friends with. She even designed a handbag and shoe range for the brand. This ‘fashion cred’ together with the popularity of her first Dior fragrance ad make this campaign one to look out for. More details are sure to be released soon.

Source: Independent.co.uk

Natalie Portman has been named as the new face of Parfums Christian Dior. The stunning actress signed a deal with the French fashion house to front a new campaign – the first time she has represented a fragrance and cosmetics brand. Claude Martinez, president and chief executive officer of Parfums Christian Dior, said: “We are extremely excited to have Miss Portman embody our house. She will symbolise with grace the values of luxury and the glamour of Dior.” It is not yet known which project Natalie – who follows in the footsteps of Sharon Stone, Charlize Theron, Jude Law and Monica Bellucci – will be involved in. Despite her striking beauty, Natalie recently admitted she is concerned about losing her looks after seeing so many ageing actresses struggle. The 28-year-old star said: “You see people who were stars five years ago and already they’re waning. As actresses approach 40, it starts becoming really, really difficult.” However, the Closer actress said she didn’t think she would surgically alter her appearance to look younger. When asked if she’d have cosmetic surgery in future, she said: “I would hope not.”

Source: Contactmusic

After Lily Allen for New Look and the car crash that was Lindsay Lohan’s brief tenure at Emanuel Ungaro, you’d be forgiven for thinking celebrity fashion collaborations were a tasteless marketing technique more in keeping with the days of It-bags and Big Brother than with a more sober, post-Crunch vision of responsible mass consumption. So when 28-year-old Natalie Portman launched a range of vegan shoes (that’s to say no leather or other animal products, rather than that they’re edible) for green label Te Casan, she too came in for a certain amount of scorn and mockery. But the stylish Mary-Janes and court shoes that she created for the eco-tailor were created with the integrity and drive that marks most of her initiatives – and all profits were donated to environmental charities.
The actress has maintained a level of privacy and normality despite her stardom – she completed a psychology degree at Harvard while filming the Star Wars prequels, and even had two undergraduate papers published in respected journals. A vegetarian since childhood, she turned wholly vegan after reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals last year, and is a keen supporter of Peta. In 2007, she travelled to Rwanda to film the documentary Gorillas on the Brink, and has also fought to highlight issues of child malnutrition. Her work with Finca raised money for impoverished women to set up their own businesses, while her endorsement of the OneVoice Movement has brought the potential of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a wider audience. Having announced her resolution to carbon-neutralise all her journeys, it’s clear she isn’t your average starlet.

Source: Independent.co.uk

Crafts – tiny little bits or tremendously spectacular monstrosities… no matter how much space they occupy, it’s no doubt that their handmade nature can steal many hearts. Crafts are one and only treasures, never replaced and never identical to any other items. Special. Unique. Pieces of art. Binki Shapiro of the band Little Joy appreciated the priceless value of crafts and asked her artistic mates to join her in an initiative called ‘Crafts for a Cause’. Ornamented legendary guitars, totally adorable hand-drawn pictures, cutely doodled tote bags and emblazoned t-shirts are available from various artists, from Daft Punk, Conor Oberst, Jenny Lewis, Natalie Portman and Cat Power to Spike Jonze, No Doubt, The Strokes, Sia and more! Musicians from the Red Hot Chili Peppers decorated a few white t-shirts and turned them into trendy fashion items. See for yourself by visiting the special Crafts for a Cause blog. If you want to help earthquake-affected Haitians, you can join the auction on March 15 at www.BiddingForGood. All the proceeds will go to Artists for Peace and Justice, an amazing charitable organization founded by filmmaker Paul Haggis.