Natalie Portman quits NY for Paris with spouse

Hollywood star Natalie Portman is swapping New York for Paris along with her French husband Benjamin Millepied after he secured the post of dance director at the French capital's Opera, AFP reported.

Millepied, a dancer and choreographer best known for a role alongside Portman in the film "Black Swan", was named as the replacement for Brigitte Lefevre on Thursday.

The 35-year-old, who began his career at the New York City Ballet where he quickly rose to become a principal dancer in 2002, will take the reins of the prestigious establishment in October 2014, the opera said.

Millepied, who married Portman in California last August and has a young son with the Oscar-winning actress, said the whole family would be moving across the Atlantic.

"It is not very complicated, we are coming to live in Paris," he said. "I'm not going to come without me family: No, no, it won't be like that, it is a family choice.

"It is a great opportunity to be able to live in Paris after 20 years in New York. We are really looking forward to the experience and the plan is to find somewhere to live rapidly because I'm going to be spending a lot of time here."

Millepied said that Portman, 31, his partner of nearly three years, had no intention of giving up her career, revealing that she would be considering offers from European film-makers.

"The fact that she will be in France won't stop her doing projects outside of France, that's the nature of her career," he said.