One thing Natalie Portman had to do to protect her personal life when she started acting aged 13

Natalie Portman has been working to keep her private life separate from her public life as an actor since she began working at age 13.

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Portman explained, "I got very protective of it very early on. I chose a different name when I started, which was kind of an interesting way that I separated identities."

She continued, "I would get upset if someone at school called me Natalie Portman. I was like, if you know me, you know me as Natalie Hershlag at school. It was kind of an extreme bifurcation of identity that I've tried to integrate a little bit more as an adult."

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The Oscar-winner said that she was "not accepting" at first that both versions were part of her, and that there are "multitudes" of ways other people see her.

"As I started having kids and a family, I started realising that maybe it was not helpful to be like, there's two of me," Portman said.

"I have many interactions during my day as a public person. To exclude that from my experience is not real."

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Portman has recently been living in Paris with her two children and husband, French dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied.

They have also spent time living in Los Angeles, where Portman said she leads a "very non-Hollywood life."

As for any remaining public interest in her personal life with her family, Portman said, "I have no desire to contribute to it."

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That comment was very much given to shut down any discussion about speculation over Millepied's alleged extramarital affair, after the publication asked Portman about the period leading up to her new film May December's release, when the claims were published by French outlet Voici.

The interviewer then admitted they "don't love asking about it, either," to which Portman replied, "I can imagine."

Neither Portman nor Millepied have publicly addressed his alleged extramarital affair, nor have they spoken on rumours of their alleged separation.