Benjamin Millepied is the happy husband of Natalie Portman, an American actress with whom he had a child in 2011. A dancer and choreographer, he was appointed head of the Paris Opera Ballet to succeed Brigitte Lefèvre. He will debut in this very prestigious position in October 2014.
Born on June 10, 1977 in Bordeaux, France, he grew up in Dakar, Senegal where he learned the basics of dance from his mother, a contemporary dance teacher in an African dance school. The family returned to Bordeaux in 1981 to open a school in the family home. There he learns the discipline and strict basics of classical dance.
At only 13 years old, thanks to an age exemption, he enters the Conservatoire national supérieur de danse de Lyon.
In 1993, he entered the School of American Ballet in New York and waited only two years to land his first role as a dancer. Jerome Robbins becomes his mentor.
In 2001, at only 24 years old, he was named principal dancer. He will perform the greatest roles with the renowned New York City Ballet.
In 2002, in parallel to his career as a dancer, he began a career as a choreographer. He collaborates with the greatest companies such as the Paris Opera, the American Ballet Theatre or the Mariinsky Ballet.
In 2009, he was hired as consultant choreographer on the film Black Swan by Darren Aronofsky, a film on which he met Natalie Portman.
In 2011, he leaves New York City Ballet and creates his own contemporary dance company in Los Angeles, called LA Dance Project.
At the beginning of 2013, from a prestigious list of candidates and at only 35 years old, he is chosen to become Director of Dance at the Paris Opera from October 2014. His wife and son, Aleph (born in June 2011) follow him to the capital of Paris to support him in this great stage of his career. The couple is expecting their second child in 2017. On February 22, 2017, the actress gives birth to a daughter, Amalia.
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