Natalie Portman Describes Her Kids’ Parisian Play Dates — & Why She Loves the French Approach To Parenting

Natalie Portman is setting the record straight. The Oscar winner wants it to be known that, no, the French people do not fit into the rude and snooty stereotype that many people imagine. She and her children now call Paris home, and she finds that when she returns to the United States, that’s when she feels rude.

“I find the people [in France] are actually incredibly friendly — you just have to know how to interact, so that we’re not the ones being rude,” she said in a cover interview with Net-A-Porter. “Now, when I go back to the US, I’m like, oh, I would go into a store and not say hello to everyone there? It’s weird.”

But it’s not just interactions with shop owners that make Portman feel this way, because it’s not just the adults she meets that are “incredibly friendly” — it’s her kids’ friends, too. Portman shares kids Aleph, 13, and Amalia, 8 with ex-husband Benjamin Milliepied, and she is reportedly “grateful” to be raising them in Paris, where parenting is so different.

“All the kids that come to my house are, like, ‘Bonjour Madame’ – and give me the bise [cheek-to-cheek kiss],” Portman said. “And before they leave, they are, like, ‘Thank you for having me.'”

All of which sounds impressive enough as it is. A thoughtful and genuine hello and goodbye?! How have the Parisian people managed to engrain that so deeply into their children’s manners that they are sure to act this way no matter how a play date ends? “If I’m not nearby, they’ll come and find me to say it,” she said. They go out of their way to say goodbye and thank you?

That’s pretty special, and it must warm Portman’s heart anytime she hosts her kids’ friends.

Last month, Portman revealed how Aleph and Amalia were helping her move on amid her divorce from Millepied.

“My kids are always a source of excitement, because you just see them develop into the individuals they are,” Portman told Wednesday star Jenna Ortega in a new interview for Interview Magazine. And that excitement kept her afloat as the divorce was finalized. Instead of spending the past few months wallowing, it sounds like Portman has been surrounding herself with loved ones.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time with my friends, with their kids and my kids; that’s pretty fun,” Portman said. Pretty fun … and probably full of heartfelt bonjours, bise, and well-behaved kiddos.

From Maëlis to Élodie, here’s a list of French baby names for your little girl.