(From left:) Dear Abby/Pauline Friedman, Natalie Portman, Ann Landers/Esther Friedman Image by GETTY IMAGES/FORWARD MONTAGE

Crown Princess of the World and Jew of Extraordinary Fame Natalie Portman will play the twin sisters and advice columnists who went by the names “Dear Abby” and “Ann Landers” in a movie that she will direct herself.

Good grief.

Setting aside our bitterness that Portman will likely achieve this daunting feat while remaining ludicrously thin and French-looking, this is thrilling news. Real-life twins Esther and Pauline Friedman, born 1918, became American institutions after holding dueling advice columns for decades under the names “Ann Landers” (Esther) and “Dear Abby” (Pauline). Portman mildly resembles the twins in their early years, and her decision to cast herself in Jewish roles is, while not uncharacteristic of her, exciting. As we see a trend of non-Jewish actors playing specifically Jewish characters — see: Oscar Isaac as a Mossad spy, etcetera — it’s nice to see Portman elect to tell Jewish stories.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Plus, this could be her version of “Parent Trap.”

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at singer@forward.com or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount