Natalie Portman thanks friends for lifting her up 'again and again' after divorce

For her birthday this year, Natalie Portman had a gift for some of her closest friends.

The actress used her birthday post to thank them for their support.

"This year, on my birthday, I want to celebrate my gratitude for my friends who lift me up again and again," reads her message, shared on Instagram with a slideshow of photos of Portman with some of her pals.

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The appreciation comes months after Portman reportedly finalised her divorce from dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied.

The pair married in 2012, two years after meeting on the set of her hit 2010 film Black Swan on which he served as choreographer. Portman plays a ballerina opposite Mila Kunis in the film.

In 2018, the actress gushed about their first meeting during a SiriusXM Town Hall interview

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"I met my husband on it, so I think I was in, like, dreamland," Portman recalled.

"He was teaching me to dance. You know, one of those romantic [stories]...

"It was definitely exciting and fun. It was beautiful. I don't know about instant. It was like I really got to know him and that was when it seemed like, 'Oh this is the person.' "

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She even joked about him in her acceptance speech when she won the best actress Golden Globe for her performance in that movie.

"Benjamin choreographed the film, and also you might remember him in the movie as the guy when they ask, 'Would you sleep with that girl?' And he's like, 'Pffsh, no,'" Portman, who was at the time pregnant their first child, quipped.

"He's the best actor. It's not true: He totally wants to sleep with me!"

Both Portman and Millepied are known for being private about their personal lives, which includes their family life with son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, 7.

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