2011 SAG Awards: Natalie Portman Wins Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

The 17^th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) aired Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011. So once again the actors dressed in their best and gathered together for the award ceremony to see who would go home with the awards.

After a bit of chat and showing off their elegant evening wear on the red carpet, the actors all found their seats to wait for the show to begin. You could see a lot of nervous faces in the crowd, but also a lot of calm and collected ones. The SAG Awards are always filled with veteran actors as well as new faces on the screen.

The nominees for outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role were Annette Bening for "The Kids are Alright," Nicole Kidman for her performance in "Rabbit Hole," Jennifer Lawrence for "Winters Bone," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," and Hilary Swank for her performance in "Conviction."

The ladies who were nominated for the award were all wonderful in their roles and certainly worthy of their nominations. But only one would be able to go home the winner. And for the 2011 SAG Awards, that would be Natalie Portman.

Portman did not appear one bit surprised when the presenters called her name; one may be so bold to say she even looked a bit smug about it. Perhaps the hype surrounding "Black Swan" had given her confidence for a win.

Her fellow nominees and the rest of the audience gave her wonderfully loud applause as she rose to go accept her award.

She did look beautiful in her long white dress which discreetly covered the baby bump from her pregnancy. She carefully made her way onto the stage and said a ton of thanks to everyone who was important to her, her win and her career. But, she expressed an especially big thank you to the Screen Actors Guild for taking care of her since she was only a child of 11. Portman told the audience how SAG made sure she was able to go to school and never work too long.

Really, Natalie Portman's win was not a big surprise. The reviews about "Black Swan" are all either you love it or hate it, but even the haters admit to Portman's fantastic performance in the film. Having just received a Golden Globe for her performance in "Black Swan," as well as the SAG Award, Portman will certainly do well at the Oscars in February.

Sources:
2011 SAG Awards Live on TNT
Hollywood Today: http://www.hollywoodtoday.net/2011/01/16/golden-globes-natalie-portman-wins-for-black-swan/