Leaf ArbuthnotJul 31, 2026 – 5.00amThe writer Rachel Cusk has long mined her own life, and the lives of those closest to her, for material for her critically acclaimed novels. Now, if gossip in publishing circles – and an explosive article by the critic Valerie Stivers on news and opinion website UnHerd – are to be believed, Cusk has trained her novelist’s eye on the actor Natalie Portman, whom she seems to portray in her book Life of M, out in a few weeks’ time.Both Portman, 45, and Cusk, 59, live in Paris (Portman in a stunning 550-square-metre flat near the Eiffel Tower, Cusk in an apartment in the fashionable Marais district). The pair have known each other for years: Portman has interviewed Cusk for her Instagram account Natalie’s Book Club and twice chosen to promote Cusk’s novels on the platform.The Telegraph LondonSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Natalie Portman, her novelist friend and a literary assassination
The question exercising many is not whether the protagonist really is Portman, but whether the Hollywood star collaborated with the author – and now regrets it.
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