Tirohia te wāhanga i raro nei, kātahi ka whakautu i te pātai i muri mai i te reo kotahi me te wāhanga:  Passage: I waenga o nga tau 1990, he maha nga mahi a Portman, tae atu ki te Heat, Everyone Says I Love You, me Mars Attacks!. Ko tana mahi i roto i te kiriata roopu iti Ko nga Wahine Ataahua i tino manakohia. Ko ia te whiringa tuatahi ki te takaro i a Juliet i roto i a Romeo + Juliet a William Shakespeare, engari i whakaaro nga kaihanga kaore i te pai tana pakeke. I te 1997, i takaro a Portman i te mahi a Anne Frank i roto i te whakatikatika Broadway o Te Diary o Anne Frank. Whai muri i nga kotiro ataahua o te tau 1996 i whakaroa a Portman ki te whakaae ki nga mahi i reira ko tana ahuatanga he taiohi taiohi. I roto i te uiui ki te Guardian, ka ui te kaituhi āhuatanga Simon Hattenstone ki a Portman mena i mohio ia na ratou i "moemoea ai te pedophile", ka whakautu a Portman "he maha nga mea i whiriwhiria e au i muri mai 'na te mea i mataku ahau... i kore ai ahau e hiahia ki te mahi i nga mea whakaongaonga, ina koa i taku taiohi".I te 1997, i whakawhiwhia a Portman ki a Padmé Amidala i te Star Wars prequel trilogy. Ko te kiriata tuatahi, The Phantom Menace, i tiimata te kiriata i te Pipiri 1997 ka whakatuwherahia i te Mei 1999. Whai muri i te mahi i runga i te whakawehi Phantom, i whakakahoretia e ia te mahi matua i roto i te kiriata Anywhere but Here i muri i te ako ka uru atu ki tetahi whakaaturanga moepuku, engari ko te kaiwhakahaere a Wayne Wang me te kaiwhakaari a Susan Sarandon (i takaro i te whaea o Portman i roto i te kiriata) i tono kia tuhia ano te tuhinga. I whakaaturia ki a Portman he tuhinga hou, a ka whakatau ia ki te whakaae ki te mahi. I whakatuwherahia te kiriata i te mutunga o te tau 1999, ana i whakawhiwhia ia ki te Golden Globe mo te Kaitapere Tautoko Pai rawa atu mo tana mahi hei Ann August. Ko te kaiwhakawai a Mary Elizabeth Williams o Salon i kiia a Portman he "miharo" ka kii ia "kaore ia e rite ki etahi atu kaiwhakaari o tona tau, kaore ia i te tino pouri, kaore ano hoki i te tino maia". I waitohu ia ki te takaro i te mahi matua o te whaea taiohi i Where the Heart Is, i whakatuwherahia i te Paenga-whawha 2000.  Pātai: Āhea te wā i tuwhera ai te whakawehi a Phantom ki te tari pouaka?
mutunga o te tau 1999