Natalie Portman paid tribute to snubbed female directors with her Academy Awards outfit.

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman

The 38-year-old actress walked the red carpet at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre on Sunday (09.02.20) in a strapless black Dior gown with a gold mesh overlay an braided gold belt, teamed with a black floor-length cape, and revealed the gold embellishments were actually the embroidered names of women filmmakers who had not made the all-male Best Director shortlist.

She told the LA Times newspaper: "I wanted to recognise the women who were not recognized for their incredible work this year in my subtle way."

Those recognised on Natalie's outfit included Lorene Scafaria ('Hustlers'), Lulu Wang ('The Farewell'), Greta Gerwig ('Little Women'), Mati Diop ('Atlantics'), Marielle Heller ('A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'), Melina Matsoukas ('Queen & Slim'), Alma Har'el ('Honey Boy') and Céline Sciamma ('Portrait of a Lady on Fire').

This isn't the first time Natalie has stood up for female filmmakers.

When she joined Ron Howard to present the Best Director Golden Globe in 2018 - which went to 'Roma' filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón - she pointedly announced the shortlist by saying: "And here are the all-male nominees."

The 'Black Swan' actress - who has Aleph, eight, and two-year-old Amalia with husband Benjamin Millepied - recently spoke about her frustration at women being valued for their looks.

She said: "As a woman, you are constantly fighting against only being valued for your looks, because it becomes a very tenuous thing, to be defined by the gaze of others, the opinion of others.

"And beauty is, by definition, ephemeral, it's a thing that that you can't trap in time, it's a butterfly, it lives for a second.

"So to make a lifetime worthwhile and have meaning cannot rest on beauty..."

Tagged in