Natalie Portman warns of 'extremely dangerous' body image expectations

Natalie Portman has warned there is an "extremely dangerous" social pressure for women to have a perfect body.

The 43-year-old actress says pressure is even higher in the social media age, and says she shuns interactive technology to protect herself.

Natalie, who was just 95lbs (43kg) when she played a ballerina in the 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan, has issued a warning against social expectations to be skinny.

She told Grazia, "It's very hard to escape. You have to block it out as much as possible because it's extremely dangerous."

When asked how she avoids such pressure herself, the Oscar-winning star replied, "Not being on social media, not reading anything about myself."

Natalie previously explained that the brutal ballet training and work hours she undertook to play Nina Sayers in the Darren Aronofsky-directed film took a toll on her both physically and mentally.

She told the Daily Mail in 2011, "It was more difficult than anything I've ever experienced before. I like to go home and be myself but with this one I didn't get the chance. It didn't leave me.

"I was barely eating, I was working 16 hours a day. I was almost method acting without intending to."

While in 2022 she opened up about the challenge she faced gaining muscle to play Lady Thor in the Marvel film Thor: Love and Thunder.

She told Variety at the time, "On Black Swan, I was asked to get as small as possible. Here, I was asked to get as big as possible. That's an amazing challenge - and also a state of mind as a woman."