Angelina Jolie has turned some of her recent ventures into a family affair.
The proud mum opened up about her unbreakable bond with her six children, who she shares with her ex. Brad Pitt, in several interviews. She described them as her “close friends” while speaking to the WSJ. Magazine in December 2023 and she is partnering with them recently on her many passion projects.
She worked on the Broadway play “The Outsiders,” which opened earlier this month, as a producer alongside her daughter Vivienne, 15, who was a volunteer assistant, according to People.
Before the series debuted on April 11, Jolie opened up about going public with her partnership with her daughter, revealing that Vivienne had actually featured her to production.
“She attended an initial workshop several times and then invited me to participate,” she shared.
Jolie praised her daughter’s creative talents. “Viv is a young artist who focuses her efforts on supporting others,” she said.
“She was there to help in any way she could and learned a lot from Justin Levine (writer and co-author of the book) and the entire creative team,” she added.
The mother-daughter duo posed for photos together at the opening night of “The Outsiders” on April 11 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in New York.
The “Salt” actor wore a gold dress and brown cape that she paired with chunky gold earrings. Her daughter wore a blue jumpsuit and sneakers.
They had previously attended a preview of the play on April 3 and took photos with the cast and crew.
This isn’t Jolie’s first time collaborating with her kids: Zahara and Pax helped her launch Atelier Jolie, a fashion company, last year, she shared in her September 2023 profile for Vogue.
In recent years, Jolie has worked more behind the camera and on other projects as she focuses on supporting her children.
Jolie, 48, adopted her first child, Maddox, from Cambodia in 2002, then she adopted Zahara from an Ethiopian orphanage in 2005. She gave birth to her first biological child, Shiloh, in 2006. Then Jolie adopted Pax (who is actually her second oldest child), and she gave birth to twins Knox and Vivienne in 2008.
“I don’t really… have a social life,” Jolie told the WSJ. Magazine in the December 2023 interview.
“I realized that my closest friends are refugees,” she told the outlet. “Maybe four out of six women I’m close to come from war and conflict.” Besides the refugees she helps, she says she mainly spends time with her children.
“They are the closest people to me and my life, and they are my close friends,” she said. “We are seven very different people, that’s our strength.”
Pitt and Jolie were together for 12 years and separated in 2016. Jolie and Pitt’s divorce was finalized in 2019 and Pitt was granted joint legal custody of their five minor children in 2021. A legal battle over an estate wine business they once shared is underway. .
In her September 2023 cover story for Vogue, Jolie reflected on her role as a mother. “My whole life changed,” she says. “Having children saved me and taught me to live differently in this world.”
“I would have experienced a much darker bankruptcy if I had not wanted to live for them,” she added.
She confirmed at the time that Zahara and Pax had been “heavily involved” with Atelier Jolie. In fact, it was Zahara who found the sales space for the store, located in the Big Apple. Meanwhile, her brother Pax was busy helping his mother buy an apartment in New York.
Jolie has certainly encouraged her children to discover themselves as they grow up. “I don’t tell kids how to dress. Even when they were little, I just put things in front of them,” she told Vogue.
In this article, she described a crucial moment of self-expression in family to illustrate her point. For a 2021 red carpet premiere of her Marvel film, “Eternals,” five of Jolie-Pitt’s children rummaged through their mother’s closet and selected their own outfits. Shiloh chose a Gabriela Hearst dress, Zahara chose Elie Saab, and Knox selected vintage clothing.
“I don’t think any of us are too ‘fashionable,’ but because we live in our clothes, it’s such a part of who we are and it’s something that’s important to embrace. explore, especially for young people,” Jolie explained. in the interview.
Jolie seemed to be looking forward to the next phase of motherhood as her children flourished. She said: “I see them taking care of so many different aspects of our family. »
So what are her six children doing these days? Read on to learn more about the Oscar-winning actor’s family.
Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt, 22 years old
Maddox was the first child to enter Jolie’s life. In 2002, she adopted him as a baby in his country of birth, Cambodia, where she also filmed “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.”
At the time, Jolie was still married to Billy Bob Thornton, but months later, she and the “Sling Blade” actor split.
At the age of 4, Maddox was adopted by Jolie’s then-partner Pitt.
The eldest Jolie-Pitt child turned 21 in August 2022 and studied biochemistry at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.
“I’m so happy for him that (Maddox has) become such a good man,” Jolie told Entertainment Tonight shortly after leaving school. “I say that because he’s smart and he does his job, but he’s also wild.”
In 2017, Jolie directed the film “First They Killed My Father,” based on a memoir about the Cambodian genocide. At the Cambodia premiere, Jolie spoke about the role the country played in her life.
“Without Cambodia, I might never have become a mother. A part of my heart is and always will be in this country. And a part of this country is always with me: Maddox,” she said in the presence of her children, according to People.
Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, 19 years old
Jolie adopted her daughter Zahara from an Ethiopian orphanage in 2005, per People. “Madox and I are so excited to have a new addition to our family,” Jolie told People in a cover story.
Pitt traveled to Ethiopia with Jolie in 2005 to adopt Zahara. He officially adopted Zahara the following year, at the same time as he became a father to Maddox.
“I learned so much from her,” Jolie said of the teenager at a Time 100 conference in 2020. “She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman. … His bond with his country, his continent is very strong, it’s his and it’s something that only impresses me.”
On July 31, 2022, Jolie posted on Instagram to reveal that Zahara had begun attending Atlanta’s historically black liberal arts college, Spelman. “This is a very special place and an honor to have a family member as your new Spelman girl,” she wrote.
While dropping it off in August 2022, Jolie became emotional. “I’m going to start crying. I haven’t started crying yet,” Jolie told Vice President for Student Affairs Darryl Holloman in a video posted to her now-private Instagram.
But they were not separated for long. In October 2022, Jolie and Zahara were spotted together when Spelman returned. ‘Angelina Jolie takes a leisurely stroll with her daughter in Spelman during reunion,’ woman says wrote on Twitter.
On November 15, 2023, Essence shared a video from Spelman College in which Zahara announced that she had been initiated into Alpha Kappa Sorority, Inc., the first historically Black intercollegiate sorority in the United States. In the video, the then 18-year-old proudly announced that her name was Zahara Marley Jolie and that she was from Los Angeles.
Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, 17 years old
Born in 2006 in the African nation of Namibia, Shiloh was the first of three biological children Jolie and Pitt welcomed together during their relationship.
At just 16 years old, Shiloh, who was spotted attending a rock concert with her mother in 2022, has already gained her own fame as a dancer.
In June 2022, Hamilton Evans Choreography shared a clip of the teen showing off a variety of hip-hop dance moves to Doja Cat’s “Vegas.”
Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, 20 years old
Although he is the fourth child to enter Jolie’s life, Pax is actually the second eldest in the family.
Born in 2003 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Pax was adopted by Jolie in 2007, when he was three years old. He was adopted by Pitt in 2008, according to People.
Knox Léon Jolie-Pitt, 15 years old
Born in Nice, France in 2008 to twin Vivienne, Knox, the youngest son of Jolie and Pitt.
Along with Pax, Zahara and Shiloh, Knox played small roles in Jolie’s 2016 animated film, “Kung Fu Panda 3.”
But Knox isn’t going into showbiz, according to her famous mom.
“They don’t want to be actors,” Jolie told Entertainment Tonight shortly after the film’s release. “But I didn’t want them to miss this opportunity.”
Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, 15 years old
Vivienne was also born in Nice, France in 2008 alongside Knox.
Before this year, the details of the 15-year-old’s life remained largely private. But she has recently made public appearances with her mother due to their collaboration on the play “The Outsiders.”
Jolie’s involvement in the series was reported by People in August 2023.
At the time, the publication also reported that Vivienne worked as her mother’s volunteer assistant on the production. The actor and filmmaker praised his daughter’s work ethic in a statement obtained by People.
“Viv reminds me of my mother in the sense that she doesn’t seek to be the center of attention but to support other creatives,” she said. “She is very thoughtful and serious about theater and works hard to better understand how to contribute to it.”
The play “The Outsiders” is based on the 1967 book of the same name by SE Hinton which was made into the 1983 film by Francis Ford Coppola starring Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Ralph Macchio, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise. . Dillon was also present at the April 3 premiere. He was included in the cast and crew photo with Jolie and Vivienne.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
