Natalie Portman highlights gender gap in 2026 Oscar nominations

Natalie Portman is speaking out about the lack of female representation in this year’s Oscars nominations.

The actress highlighted the “persistent barriers for women” in filmmaking while attending the Sundance Film Festival in Utah to promote her latest film, The Gallerist, on Saturday, January 24.

Portman, 44, expressed frustration over the Best Director category, where only one woman, Chloé Zhao for Hamnet, received a nomination.

“So many of the best films I saw this year were made by women. You just see the barriers at every level because so many were not recognized at awards time,” she told Variety.

The actress continued, “Between Sorry Baby and Left-Handed Girl and Hedda and The Testament of Ann Lee… Extraordinary films this year that I think a lot of people are enjoying and loving, but are not getting the accolades that they deserve.”

This year’s Best Director category is otherwise dominated by male directors, including Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value), and Ryan Coogler (Sinners). Among the 10 films nominated for Best Picture, Hamnet is the only one directed by a woman.

For her latest film, The Gallerist, Portman collaborated with female director Cathy Yan. The dark comedy thriller follows a desperate gallery owner, played by Portman, who tries to sell a dead man as art at Art Basel in Miami. The film also stars Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sterling K. Brown, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.