Natalie Portman Welcomes A Baby Girl

Exciting news for the Portman-Millepied family: Natalie Portman has given birth to a girl, her rep confirmed to Bustle. This is Portman's second child with husband Benjamin Millepied. In a statement to Bustle, Portman's rep said,

Natalie Portman and her husband Benjamin Millepied welcomed a baby girl, Amalia Millepied, on February 22. Mother and baby are happy and healthy.

The arrival of Amalia implies that rather than Portman not attending the 89th Oscars because she wanted to take a break while heavily pregnant, as previously reported, she chose not to attend the Oscars because she had just given birth and possibly wanted to recuperate.

It is absolutely reasonable that Portman would have preferred to stay at home and be with her family rather than attend the Oscars. No matter how exciting the evening was (and trust me, it was plenty exciting), the 2017 nominee understandably had her mind on other things. Between attending the ceremony or staying home to bask in the joy of a new baby, I think it's fair to say that Portman's choice was a no-brainer.

Admirably, Portman remained present and accounted for in press junkets and on the red carpet at various awards shows during her second pregnancy in 2016 and early 2017. However, she chose to remain relatively quiet about the more intimate details of her pregnancy, instead making the occasional joke about her size as a pregnant woman or her pregnant food cravings during late-night talk show interviews.

Amalia is now the younger sister of Aleph, Portman and Millepied's first child, who was born in 2011. The name "Amalia" is a romantic one: derived from the Germanic word, "amal," Amalia can mean "industrious" or "hard-working." It's a fitting name for the daughter of two incredibly hard-working parents.

While Portman reportedly has no new projects in the works, fans can look forward to getting their Portman fix later 2017 and 2018, when upcoming films Song to Song, Annihilation, and The Life and Death of John F. Donovan hit theaters. For now, all the matters when it comes to Portman is the hope that she is enjoying her time as a new mother.