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Born
June 4, 1975 in Los Angeles, Angelina Jolie Voight comes from
a family rich with acting and fame. Jon Voight is her father
and actress Marcheline Bertrand is her mother. Her parents
divorced when she was just a baby and Angelina Jolie and her
brother James Haven (Voight) were raised mostly by their mother.
Despite the acting blood that flowed through her, Angelina's
lifelong goal was to be a funeral director. But, by the time
Angelina was 11, she had realized that acting was right up
her alley, too. She enrolled and began studying at the Lee
Stratsberg Theater Institute.
By age 16, Angelina moved out on her own and began modeling.
She grabbed a few spots, and also had parts in music videos,
most notably the Rolling Stones. She began film studies at
the New York University. She soon gave up on school and began
working with the Met Theatre Group in Los Angeles. Angelina
was not yet certain that acting was what she wanted out of
life, but she definitely thought it sparked an interest.
By 1993, Angelina had decided to pursue acting full time.
A forgetable first role in Cyborg II: Glass Shadow followed,
but soon thereafter Angelina nabbed a role in Hackers, alongside
Matthew Lillard and Jonny Lee Miller. The film got good reviews
for Angelina, but incredibly bad reviews for the film. Regardless,
Angelina got her first husband. She and Jonny Lee hit it off,
and they married soon after. The wedding had Angelina wearing
leather pants and a white t-shirt with her husband's name
written in blood on her back. But, blood apparently wasn't
thicker than water. Within a year, the two were separated,
but their divorce wasn't finalized until 2000.
After her role in Hackers, Angelina went on to star in the
critically praised HBO movie GIA. She was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of the bisexual and heroin
addict supermodel Gia Carangi who died of AIDS. At the time,
it has been said that Jolie who tends to absorb herself in
her roles, may have gotten too much into this one according
to worried friends.
Pushing Tin, The Bone Collector, which also featured Denzel
Washington, and Playing By Heart followed each receiving mixed
reviews, but all coming back with one thing in common : Angelina
was excellent. But, it was Girl, Interrupted, a film that
was supposed to relaunch Winona Ryder, that in fact catapulted
Angelina into superstardom. She won an Oscar, stole the film
out from under Winona, and was quickly established as the
actress in Hollywood.
Angelina's second marriage came when she met Billy Bob Thornton
while filming Pushing Tin. The two married in a small Las
Vegas wedding in 2000. It was reported that Angelina checked
herself into UCLA for psychological examination only four
days prior to the wedding. Shortly after adopting a baby boy
from Cambodia they divorced in 2003.
In early 2005, Jolie found herself in the middle
of a well-publicised Hollywood scandal when she was accused
of being the "other woman" in the marital break-up
of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. The allegation was that
she and Pitt had started an affair during filming of the spy
comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith. However, in several interviews
she has denied starting an affair with Pitt. In an interview
with Marie Claire magazine recently she stated that she could
never have a relationship with a married man because she has
seen what relationships like that did to her mother. Her father
has acknowledged that he cheated on Jolie's mother when they
were married. Jolie stated that she "could not look herself
in the mirror" if she had an affair with a married man.
Thanks to a mixture of generally good reviews,
advance publicity and the rumours, Mr. & Mrs. Smith opened
in the No. 1 position at the box-office on its release in
early June 2005, providing Jolie with her first box-office
success in several years.
In late June 2005, the New York Post reported
a claim that Jolie was pregnant - a report republished on
June 30 by Britain's Sky TV, Sun Media Corporation in Canada,
and the Asian Hindustan Times, among others. Her publicist
denied this report, which would ultimately prove to be premature.
On July 5, 2005, People magazine reported that
Jolie was in the final stages of adopting a baby girl, who
was thought to be orphaned by AIDS, but her mother from Ethiopia
didn't have enough money to raise her, through the agency
Wide Horizons for Children. Jolie has named her daughter Zahara
Marley Jolie-Pitt. Zahara was born on January 8, 2005. A woman
in London has been claiming she is Zahara's birth mother since
August 2005. Ms. Jolie had a lawyer in London to look into
the matter, which proved to be false.
On September 28, 2005 while making an appearance
to discuss America's financial involvement in fighting AIDS
globally on CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf
Blitzer, Jolie stated that her daughter is an "AIDS orphan."
By that she means her birth mother died from the disease but
her daughter does not have the disease. The birth father of
Zahara is not known. Her statement made it clear that the
birth mother is indeed dead. In late October 2005, an Ethiopian
judge ruled that there is no evidence to suggest that Ms.
Jolie would have to file for re-adoption of her daughter Zahara
Marley Jolie. The judge ruled that the woman claiming to be
her mother is not the birth mother. Earlier in the summer,
another woman had come forward claiming to be the grandmother
of Zahara. That claim also proved to be false.
American magazine US Weekly indicated erroneously
that Jolie and Brad Pitt had adopted Zahara together. When
the magazine realised its error, the presses were stopped
and an apology issued to Jolie and Pitt; printing of the issue
resumed with the correction made, though a number of copies
with the error were still released to the public. Reportedly,
however, Pitt was present when Jolie signed the adoption papers.
The agency later said Brad Pitt was not present when Angelina
Jolie picked up her daughter.
Speculation over the nature of Jolie and Pitt's
relationship continued throughout the summer of 2005. On August
22, the Calgary Herald ran a front-page story with a photo
of Jolie taken during a surprise visit she made to Calgary,
Alberta a couple of days earlier, accompanied by her adopted
daughter Zahara. Pitt was at that time filming in Calgary,
as was her father, Jon Voight. It was later reported that
Jolie and Pitt visited the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology
in Drumheller, Alberta together, and sources reported in September,
2005 that they had visited West Edmonton Mall together.
On September 30, the Calgary Sun reported that
Pitt and Jolie had rented a house together in the city of
Spruce Grove, Alberta, west of Edmonton where Pitt was filming;
the same issue printed a photograph of the couple, now dubbed
"Brangelina", leaving an Edmonton grocer's.
Rumors of the couple's pregnancy spread as what
appeared to be a "baby bump" was noticed by paparazzi
and tabloids in a variety of photographs taken from December
30th - January 7th. On January 11, 2006, both Jolie's and
Pitt's representatives confirmed, through People, that the
two were expecting their third child (first biological child)
in summer 2006, thus indirectly confirming for the first time
that they were in a relationship.
In December 2005 however, it was confirmed that
Pitt was seeking to legally adopt Jolie's two children. In
support of this bid (and as part of legal requirements), Jolie
took out classified advertisements in the Los Angeles paper,
the Daily Commerce, announcing the name change request, and
on January 19, 2006, a judge in California approved this request.
The children's legal surnames were formally changed to Jolie-Pitt
On May 27, Jolie gave birth to a girl, named
Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, in Namibia, Africa.
On screen, Jolie was hard to miss in 2000. She starred in
a number of films, including the crime thriller Gone in Sixty
Seconds, in which she co-starred as a car thief alongside
Nicolas Cage, and Original Sin, a thriller that featured her
as the bad-seed bride of a Cuban tycoon (Antonio Banderas).
If she was hard to miss in 2000, Jolie was impossible to escape
in 2001 with her turn as shapely video-game adventuress Lara
Croft in the long anticipated film adaptation of the popular
Tomb Raider video-game franchise. 2003 saw Jolie star again
as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider2.
For several years prior to mid 2005, Jolie did not have a
hit movie. Several of her movies, such as Alexander, Sky Captain,
and Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life were major box office
disappointments although Jolie usually received good notices.
She did provide the voice of Lola in the successful animated
film, Shark Tale. Nonetheless she remains one of Hollywood's
most "in-demand" actresses.
In early 2005, Jolie found herself at the center of a well-publicized
Hollywood scandal when she was accused of being the "other
woman" in the marital break-up of Brad Pitt and Jennifer
Aniston. The allegation was that she and Pitt had started
an affair during filming of the spy comedy Mr. & Mrs.
Smith, something she denies. In several interviews she has
denied starting an affair with Pitt. In an interview with
Marie Claire magazine recently she stated that she could never
have a relationship with a married man because she has seen
what relationships like that did to her mother. Her father
has acknowledged that he cheated on Jolie's mom when they
were married. Jolie stated she "could not, could not
look herself in the mirror" if she had an affair with
a married man.
Thanks to a mixture of generally good reviews and advance
publicity due to all the rumors, Mr. & Mrs. Smith opened
in the No. 1 position at the box office after it was released
in early June 2005, providing Jolie with her first box-office
success in several years.
In March 2005, Jolie was named the third sexiest woman in
the world by FHM magazine, from fifteen million votes worldwide.
Since taking on her goodwill ambassador duties, Jolie has
on numerous occasions made public statements that she wants
to quit acting and concentrate on her UN work (for example,
see Ireland On-Line in June 2005). However, she has also stated
that her work provides the income necessary for her to continue
travelling the world on behalf of the UN.
Jolie continues to balance the demands of being a movie star
with that of being a humanitarian, despite an apparently grueling
schedule. On June 7, 2005, the Associated Press wire service
reported on Jolie giving a presentation in Islamabad, Pakistan.
That very same day, she attended the premiere of Mr. &
Mrs. Smith in Los Angeles.
In late June 2005, the New York Post reported a claim that
Jolie is pregnant, a report republished on June 30 by Britain's
Sky TV, Sun Media Corporation in Canada, and the Asian Hindustan
Times, among others. Her publicists presently deny this report.
On July 5, 2005, People magazine reported that Jolie was in
the final stages of adopting a baby girl, who was orphaned
by AIDS, from Ethiopia, through the agency Wide Horizons for
Children. Jolie has named her daughter Zahara Marley Jolie.
A woman in London has been claiming she is Zahara's birth
mother since August of 2005. There has been no legal development
regarding this claim. Ms. Jolie has contacted a lawyer in
London to look into the matter. Earlier in the summer another
woman came foward claiming to be the grandmother of Zahara.
That claim too proved to be false. On September 28th 2005
while making an appearance to discuse American's financial
involvment with fighting AIDS globally on CNN's "The
Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer Jolie stated that her
daughter is a "AIDS orphan." By that she means her
birth mother died from the disease but her daughter does not
have the disease. The birth father of Zahara is not known.
Her statement made it clear that the birth mother is indeed
dead. In September of 2005 Angelina Jolie was named the new
spokesperson for the clothing line St. John Knits starting
in the Spring/Fall 0f 2006. The deal with the clothing company
includes the startup of a charity headed by Ms. Jolie. The
charity will focus on children's issues and causes. It has
been reported but not comfired that Angelina Jolie will also
sit on the board of directors and have stock in the company.
The deal is also believed to be the biggest celebrity clothing
indorsment with the actress recieving 10-15 million dollars.
Other celebrities such as Gwenyth Paltrow recieve something
in the neighborhood of 5 million dollars to promote luxury
clothing and accessories.
The American magazine US Weekly, in reporting Jolie's second
adoption, indicated erroneously that Jolie and Pitt had adopted
the girl together. When the magazine realized its error, the
presses were stopped and an apology issued to Jolie and Pitt;
printing of the issue resumed with the correction made, though
a number of copies with the error were still released to the
public. Reportedly, however, Pitt was present when Jolie signed
the adoption papers. The agency later said Brad Pitt was not
present when Angelina Jolie picked up her daughter.
In August 2005, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni awarded
Jolie a Cambodian citizenship for her conservation work in
the country.
Speculation over the nature of Jolie and Pitt's relationship
continued throughout the summer of 2005. On August 22, the
Calgary Herald ran a front-page story with a photo of Jolie
taken during a surprise visit she made to Calgary, Alberta
a couple of days earlier, accompanied by Zahara. Brad Pitt
was at that time filming a movie in Calgary, as was her father,
Jon Voight. It was later reported that Jolie and Pitt visited
the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta
together, and CNN and the Calgary Sun reported on September
22, 2005 that they visited West Edmonton Mall together.
On September 30, the Calgary Sun reported that Pitt and Jolie
had rented a house together in the city of Spruce Grove, Alberta,
west of Edmonton where Pitt was filming; the same issue printed
a photograph of the couple, now dubbed "Brangelina",
leaving an Edmonton grocer's.
Rumors of the couple's pregnancy spread as what appeared
to be a "baby bump" was noticed by paparazzi and
tabloids in a variety of photographs taken from December 30th
- January 7th. On January 11, 2006, both Jolie's and Pitt's
representatives confirmed, through People, that the two were
expecting their third child (first biological child) in summer
2006, thus indirectly confirming for the first time that they
were in a relationship.
Besides her admitted affection towards death and the macabre,
Jolie sports several scars from playing with knives (including
an X on her arm, a slice on her stomach and a nick on her
neck), or as she puts it "You're young, you're drunk,
you're in bed, you have knives; shit happens". She also
has spoken of using knifes in sexual play. Jolie also has
admitted several times to being bisexual.
In addition to the scars, Angelina Jolie sports numerous
tattoos:
1. Five slash-like columns of Khmer Script writing on her
left shoulderblade
2. A dragon on her left arm
3. Billy Bob, above dragon tattoo, on left shoulder
now
removed
4. A special custom design made by Angelina and Billy Bob
Thornton on her right forearm
5. Roman Numerals XIII on her left forearm
6. "A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages"
Tennessee Williams quote on left inside forearm
7. A rune shaped design resembling a small letter H on her
inside left wrist
8. A black dragon with a blue tongue on her lower hip (covered
by the large black cross below)
9. "Quod me nutrit me destruit" Latin for "What
nourishes me also destroys me" Located on her lower stomach
10. A Large black crucifix on her lower hip which covers the
blue-tongued black dragon.
11. Energy waves located a little below her belly button
12. Japanese Kanji for death on her left shoulder (her first
tattoo)
13. A dragon with tribal design on her lower back
14. A blue box - signifying a window on her lower back
15. Two black American Indian symbols on her lower back
16. "Courage, location unknown, now removed.
17. Billy Bob located in her pubic area.
Filmography:
Beowulf (2007) (voice)
The Good Shepherd (2006)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Shark Tale (2004) (voice)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
The Fever (2004)
Taking Lives (2004)
Alexander (2004)
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)
Beyond Borders (2003)
Life or Something Like It (2002)
Original Sin (2001)
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Bone Collector, The (1999)
Pushing Tin (1999)
Playing by Heart (1998)
Hell's Kitchen (1998)
Playing God (1997)
Mojave Moon (1996)
Foxfire (1996)
Love Is All There Is (1996)
Without Evidence (1995)
Hackers (1995)
Angela & Viril (1993)
Cyborg 2 (1993)
Lookin' to Get Out (1982)
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