<Ul> <Li> "Portia" is the name John Adams used to address his wife Abigail in his letters, presumably after Shakespeare's character . (Abigail addressed her husband as "Lysander" in letters a reference to a Shakespearean character appearing in A Midsummer Night's Dream .) </Li> <Li> The New England School of Law was originally known as the Portia Law School when it was established in 1908 as a women - only law school, and was known by that name until 1969 . </Li> <Li> In his Rumpole novels (filmed for the ITV series), author John Mortimer has Rumpole call Phyllida Erskine - Brown (née Trant) the "Portia of our Chambers". </Li> <Li> In 1986, a moon of Uranus was named after Portia (see Uranus' natural satellites). </Li> <Li> Portia de Rossi (born Amanda Lee Rogers), married to Ellen DeGeneres, adopted the name Portia to reinvent herself after becoming a model and actress </Li> </Ul> <Li> "Portia" is the name John Adams used to address his wife Abigail in his letters, presumably after Shakespeare's character . (Abigail addressed her husband as "Lysander" in letters a reference to a Shakespearean character appearing in A Midsummer Night's Dream .) </Li> <Li> The New England School of Law was originally known as the Portia Law School when it was established in 1908 as a women - only law school, and was known by that name until 1969 . </Li> <Li> In his Rumpole novels (filmed for the ITV series), author John Mortimer has Rumpole call Phyllida Erskine - Brown (née Trant) the "Portia of our Chambers". </Li>

Role of portia in the trial scene of merchant of venice