The judging panel of Beijing International Film Festival has revealed that former Oscar winner Natalie Portman will head this year's event in April.

A rising Hollywood star in recent years, Portman has been popular in China since 1994, when she got her first role in Leon.

The actress is also admired by Chinese audiences for her academic excellence. In fact, most of her Chinese fans recognize her as a multilingual Harvard graduate, who scored at the top of her class.

In 2010, she was given the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the psychological thriller Black Swan, which won her more die-hard fans in China.

The actress will also work to promote her self-directed film A Tale of Love and Darkness at the event.