The Stunning Angelina Jolie: Much More Than a Pretty Face
Born in Los Angeles on June 4, 1975 to actress Marcheline Bertrand and Academy Award-winning actor John Voight, Angelina made her acting debut at six years old with the 1982 movie, “Lookin’ to Get Out,” a film which also starred Voight, her now-estranged father.
As a child, Jolie often dreamed of becoming a funeral director. Instead, after graduating from Beverly Hills High School at 16, she went on to pursue a career as a professional model, and worked in London, New York, and Los Angeles. From there, she went on to train and perform at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she acted in several stage productions. In 1993, she returned to film, with “Cyborg 2.”
In 1997, Jolie was awarded a Golden Globe for best supporting actress and an Emmy nomination for her role as Cornelia Wallace in the TV movie “George Wallace.” She won her second Golden Globe for her role in HBO’s biopic “Gia.” Her supporting role in 1999’s “Girl, Interrupted” earned her yet another Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2000, Jolie was named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.” Armed with talent and beauty, she was hired for more starring roles. In 2001, she was able to command a sizable salary of $7 million for “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” then in 2003, a handsome $12 million for its sequel.
But Jolie has proven to be less conforming than Hollywood’s other contemporary leading ladies. After all, she collects knives, has a number of tattoos, and she reports that her fascination for mortuary sciences is still alive and well.
In 1996, Jolie wed actor Jonny Lee Miller wearing black leather pants and a white shirt. Across the back of the shirt, she inscribed her husband’s name in her own blood. Less than three years later, the couple filed for divorce.
But possibly most notable for her eccentricity were the vials of blood that she and second husband, Billy Bob Thornton, carried around each other’s necks while they were married. Jolie met Thornton during the filming of 1999’s “Pushing Tin,” and they eloped in 2000.
In 2001, Angelina was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High (UNHCR) Commissioner for Refugees. Since being appointed, she’s visited UNHCR refugee operations in the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya, Cambodia, Thailand, Pakistan, and Ecuador. Not only does Jolie devote many hours each year traveling as an ambassador, she’s reportedly donated millions from her salary to help the refugees she represents.
In 2002, during her marriage to Thornton, the couple adopted a Cambodian boy and named him Maddox Chivan Thornton Jolie. But not long after, the couple filed for divorce. Jolie, a very devoted mother to now three-year-old Maddox, takes the boy everywhere with her-and reports that she plans to, at some point, adopt another little boy, this time from Africa.
Jolie doesn’t fit the leading lady mold. Not a fan of molds, Jolie’s doing pretty well for herself, Maddox, and the millions of refugees she fights to protect. She’s eccentric, all right. But she’s also intelligent, passionate, caring and generous. She’s her own woman, and she devotes not only a massive amount of money, but also her time, to help millions-which some might say are the attributes that make her most stunning.
