NATALIE PORTMAN - PORTMAN PRAISES WOMEN IN DEVELOPING NATIONS

Campaigning movie star NATALIE PORTMAN is in awe of illiterate women in developing nations who can still run a successful business while looking after 10 children.

The beautiful STAR WARS actress works for micro-finance organisation FINCA, which gives loans to females in third-world countries, and she's visited Uganda and Guatemala as part of her duties.

She says, "There are women my age with 10 kids on a dollar a day, with inadequate food and water and medicine, and everyone is dying of AIDS and malaria.

"Many of these women are illiterate and have to sign their loan cheques with a fingerprint and yet they are running successful businesses, paying their loans back on time and sending their kids to university from the money they make from their businesses. It's humbling."