For over 20 years fans have watched Angelina Jolie morph from a sexy young vixen to Brad Pitt’s partner and mother to six children while being a U.N. humanitarian.
Angelina Jolie will go down in the history books as one of the most storied actresses of the modern era. The 43-year-old is also a longtime humanitarian, working with the United Nations on refugee crisis situations since 2001. But fans will always remember her the most for her 11 year romance with former husband Brad Pitt. Their relationship began in scandal with him separating from wife Jennifer Aniston in early 2005 to Angelina becoming pregnant with their daughter Shiloh later that year. But before that happened, she was one of Hollywood’s OG wild childs!
Angie first burst on the scene in mid 90’s movies like Hackers and Foxfire, but she came to major studio’s attention with star turns in the TV movies George Wallace and Gia that garnered her Golden Globe wins. She also established that she was a wild and free spirit, jumping into the pool at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in a skin-tight glittery cleavage baring gown to celebrate her 1999 Globes win for Gia. And yes, she did it with her award in hand.
Angelina then shocked Hollywood a year later when she wed her Pushing Tin co-star Billy Bob Thornton, 63, in a quickie Las Vegas ceremony. She wore a grey t-shirt and blue jeans as she became a bride just a month shy of her 25th birthday in May of 2000. The couple lasted three years but boy did they cause a stir. Angie bragged on a red carpet about having sex with her husband in a limo on the way to a movie premiere and they infamously wore vials of each other’s blood in matching necklaces.
Their marriage disintegrated when Angelina decided she wanted to become a mom, adopting son Maddox, 17, from a Cambodian orphanage in 2003. She was a happy and single mom until she began filming the action thriller Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2004 opposite Brad. He was married to Friends star Jennifer Aniston at the time, but the chemistry between the two was undeniable. Angie said in later interviews that her kids could watch the film where their parents “fell in love” and that she couldn’t wait to get to work each day to be with Brad.
Angie had established herself as a sexy action hero in 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and continued to play hot and tough vixens in the late aughts films like Salt and Wanted. But as she and Brad built their family to ultimately include six children — three adopted and three biological — she transitioned to more meaningful roles. She cut down on her shooting schedule to be with Brad and their family and ultimately came into her own as a film writer and director.
Throughout it all, one constant in Angie’s life has been her humanitarian work. She started working with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) in 2001 as a goodwill ambassador and after 60 field missions she was elevated to Special Envoy status in 2012. In recognition of her tireless work on behalf of refugees, displaced people and victims of wartime sexual violence she was honored with the Dame of the British Empire status by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014. She also became the youngest recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian honorary Oscar in 2013 at just 38-years-old.
Even though her marriage to Brad came to a sad end in 2016, she has continued to be a devoted mom to their six kids and a tireless supporter of refugees caught up in war-torn situations. She’s even brought her kids along on several of her missions so they can see how children in crisis can survive and thrive.
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