Rachel Cusk’s new novel sparks speculation about Natalie Portman: the similarities between the actress and the mysterious protagonist of ‘Life of M’ are difficult to ignore.
- A child actress, a perfume campaign surrounded by pink flowers, a film about ballet and a life in Paris. ‘Life of M’ has not even reached bookshops yet, and it has already raised an uncomfortable question: is Rachel Cusk writing about her friend Natalie Portman?
Natalie Portman may have become, willingly or otherwise, the concealed protagonist of one of the most talked-about novels of the forthcoming literary season. Rachel Cusk will publish ‘Life of M’ next month, a work of fiction about the relationship between a narrator and an international film star identified only as M. The problem — or perhaps the book’s greatest attraction — is that the parallels with Portman are extraordinarily specific.
The theory becomes even more intriguing because Cusk and Portman have known each other for years. Both live in Paris and move within similar English-speaking cultural circles. Portman has publicly interviewed the author for Natalie’s Book Club and has recommended her novels on two occasions. Now, according to The Telegraph, Cusk’s publishing circle does not appear to be doing much to discourage speculation that her new protagonist is inspired by the actress herself.
- The similarities with Natalie Portman are difficult to ignore
M was an actress from childhood and explains in the novel that starring in a film brought her childhood to an abrupt end. Portman made her debut in ‘Léon: The Professional’ at just 12 years old and has subsequently spoken about the consequences of being sexualised at such a young age. There is even a much more specific detail: in the novel, M’s mother intervenes to prevent certain sexual scenes involving an adult co-star, something similar to what happened during the production of Léon.
Then there is fashion. M stars in enormous advertising campaigns surrounded by pink flowers. Portman has been one of the international faces of Miss Dior for years, with its campaigns repeatedly drawing on precisely that floral imagery.
And there is more. M reached one of the defining moments of her career by playing a ballerina and undergoing intensive physical training. It is difficult not to think of ‘Black Swan’, the Darren Aronofsky film that earned Portman an Oscar and for which she trained for months.
Taken separately, these details might seem like simple coincidences. Together, they make the comparison considerably harder to dismiss.
- The portrait becomes far more uncomfortable
What makes the situation truly controversial is not simply the possibility that Cusk may have drawn inspiration from a famous friend, but how she describes M. The novel presents a woman who is polite, charming with her fans, humble with the people who work around her and committed to personally taking her children to school whenever her schedule allows. Beneath that apparent normality, however, emerges a considerably colder portrait.
Cusk depicts a star who seems to approach even human relationships as though she were performing a role. M appears to struggle to understand other people’s suffering emotionally and lives within a kind of isolation created by an existence spent performing different versions of herself.
The novel itself seems to acknowledge how uncomfortable this portrait is. At one point, M eventually confronts the narrator: “I don’t like how you portray me.” She accuses her of presenting her as someone lacking humanity and incapable of love.
The parallel takes on another dimension when the novel also depicts a marriage in the process of falling apart. Portman divorced choreographer Benjamin Millepied in 2024.
A source close to the actress has rejected the suggestion to The Telegraph that this description reflects what Portman is actually like, insisting that she is surrounded by friends, love and community and describing her as a warm and affectionate person. The source also points out something fundamental: this novel is a work of fiction.
- Rachel Cusk has turned her private life into literature before
The controversy is not entirely new territory for Rachel Cusk. The author has built much of her career around exploring the boundaries between autobiography and fiction, using personal experiences and close relationships as literary material.
Her book ‘A Life’s Work’ attracted criticism for exposing intimate aspects of motherhood and her own children. In 2009, ‘The Last Supper’ was even temporarily withdrawn by its publisher after someone recognised themselves in one of the characters and threatened legal action. Later, ‘Aftermath’ directly addressed the breakdown of her marriage to photographer Adrian Clarke.
With this book, however, the situation could take on an entirely different dimension. This time, the person many readers believe they recognise behind the fiction is one of the world’s most famous actresses and, moreover, someone who has publicly demonstrated her friendship with and admiration for Cusk.
For now, neither woman has confirmed that M is Natalie Portman. They may never do so. But with a child actress, a mother intervening during filming, pink flowers, a ballet film, Paris and a broken marriage, Rachel Cusk has left enough clues for ‘Life of M’ to arrive in bookshops accompanied by a mystery that threatens to rival the novel itself.
