Yahoo News Natalie Portman Says She's 'Definitely a Soccer Mom': My Son Is a 'Ferocious' Player (Exclusive)
When she's not rooting for 11-year-old Aleph, the Angel City FC co-founder can be found along the sidelines of her Los Angeles-based soccer team
Natalie Portman is a soccer mom!
The Oscar-winning actress, who is a co-founder of the Angel City Football Club in Los Angeles, also happens to have a son who plays the sport.
"I mean, we definitely come to a lot of the City games," Portman, 41, told PEOPLE Thursday night at the premiere of her three-part HBO docuseries Angel City, which chronicles the first year of the National Women's Soccer League team.
"And then also, my son is a ferocious soccer player, so I'm going back and forth to practice," she added of 11-year-old Aleph.
"I'm definitely a soccer mom," Portman quipped.
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When she's not rooting for Aleph (whom she shares with husband Benjamin Millepied, along with daughter Amalia, 6), the Black Swan actress can be found on Angel City's sidelines, soaking up the impact the majority-female-owned team is making — which is why she got involved in the sport to begin with.
"I was so inspired by the women at the Women's World Cup, the last one, who were fighting for pay equity alongside their incredible game," Portman said. "And I saw my son looking up to the female athletes the same way that he looked up to his male heroes, and I was like, 'Wow, this is really culture-shifting.' "
In March, the Thor: Love and Thunder star spoke with PEOPLE about how special it is for her kids and the community to be a part of the history-making team.
"Well, that's the joy of soccer — or, as many people call it, football — that it's something that really brings people together and is joyful," Portman said at the time. "And so you can be supporting something like women's equity, but also having a great time doing it."
Among Angel City's high-profile investors are Jennifer Garner, Abby Wambach, Alexis Ohanian, Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain, Mia Hamm, America Ferrera, Gabrielle Union, Eva Longoria, Lilly Singh, Sophia Bush, Rachel Zoe and Lindsey Vonn.
Portman also told PEOPLE in March that she is relishing how the team has become a game-changer.
"I think that for all kids, it's so influential to see female athletes be celebrated as they deserve. I mean, we grew up as girls being expected to idolize male athletes, and we did. If you see excellence, you can be in awe of it no matter who is being excellent," she said.
The actress added, "So, I think that for all our kids, it really gives me tingles thinking about how different their world will be growing up with icons we have on our team."
At the premiere Thursday night, Portman also took pride in how it all relates to her son, telling PEOPLE, "It's the best thing to get to watch him and his friends root for our players."
Angel City debuts on HBO May 16 and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
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