Natalie portman used an alias while attending Harvard.

1. The core fact: Portman was a Harvard student

Contemporaneous and later profiles agree Portman enrolled at Harvard University in 1999 and completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2003; Harvard’s own coverage and reference works list those dates and the degree ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

2. What “alias” means in reporting: Hershlag vs. Portman

Campus reporting and faculty recollections clarify that Portman’s legal/birth name, Natalie Hershlag, appeared on class rosters and in seminars — for example, Professor Alan Dershowitz said he knew her in a seminar under the name Natalie Hershlag and did not recognize her as the actress ^[3]. That is a documented fact in The Harvard Crimson and elsewhere, and it explains why some professors claimed they “didn’t know who she was” ^[3].

3. Not evidence of a deliberate celebrity subterfuge

Available accounts frame Portman’s use of Hershlag as her given name at Harvard rather than a deliberate attempt to attend anonymously. Harvard Magazine and the Gazette describe her effort to “start over” academically and to be judged on scholarship, noting she assumed peers might think her admission was based on fame ^{[4] [1]}. Sources do not present contemporaneous evidence that she adopted a fabricated alias to hide celebrity ^{[1] [3]}.

4. How professors and classmates perceived her presence

Profiles and alumni commentary portray Portman as an earnest student who reduced acting commitments while at Harvard, worked in research labs, and engaged in campus life — including organizing events like concerts ^{[6] [7]}. Faculty recollections emphasize she was treated as a regular student in seminars; Dershowitz’s remark that he didn’t realize who she was because the roster showed “Natalie Hershlag” is a primary example ^[3].

5. Why the “alias” claim spreads and what it omits

Journalistic shorthand and internet retellings sometimes compress the reality into “used an alias,” which suggests deception. The reporting cited shows a more prosaic truth: she used her birth name in academic settings and sought ordinary student anonymity; sources do not show evidence of forged records or an invented identity beyond using Hershlag ^{[3] [4]}. If a reader expects a scandalous concealment, the cited coverage does not support that narrative.

6. Competing perspectives in the record

Some popular summaries and listicles emphasize Portman’s celebrity-turned-student story without noting the Hershlag detail, creating ambiguity for later readers ^{[2] [8]}. Long-form campus reporting and direct professor quotes, however, supply the more precise account: academic records and seminar rosters used her legal name, which led some faculty not to connect the student with the film star ^{[3] [4]}.

7. Limits of available reporting and unanswered questions

Available sources do not mention whether Harvard’s administrative records or ID cards displayed “Hershlag” exclusively, nor do they document Portman’s own explanation at the time about why she used that name (not found in current reporting). Sources also do not present contemporaneous student testimony detailing how often classmates recognized her or how she introduced herself in every setting (not found in current reporting).

8. Bottom line for readers

Natalie Portman attended Harvard as Natalie Hershlag on class lists and in seminars; that fact led some professors not to recognize her celebrity, but the evidence does not support a claim she used a false alias to deceive the university. The primary sources are campus reporting and faculty quotes, notably The Harvard Crimson and Harvard Magazine, which depict this as a normal use of her birth name while pursuing studies ^{[3] [4]}.