Angelina Jolie is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian, and this Angelina Jolie biography traces her rise from an Academy Award win in Girl, Interrupted to one of Hollywood’s most recognized stars. It covers her early life, acting career, family, and humanitarian work with refugees.
- Angelina Jolie Biography and Career Facts
- Angelina Jolie's Early Life in Los Angeles
- How Angelina Jolie Started Her Acting Career
- Angelina Jolie's Major Career Achievements and Public Recognition
- Angelina Jolie's Family, Personal Life, and Public Profile
- Angelina Jolie's Role in Humanitarian Work and Global Advocacy
- Angelina Jolie's Place Among Leading Hollywood Actresses
- Angelina Jolie's Financial Overview
- Why Angelina Jolie's Career and Advocacy Still Draw Biography Searches
- Editorial Note
- Frequently Asked Questions
Angelina Jolie Biography and Career Facts
| Full Name | Angelina Jolie Voight |
|---|---|
| Known As | Angelina Jolie |
| Date of Birth | June 4, 1975 |
| Birthplace | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Actress, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Humanitarian |
| Years Active | 1982 to present |
| Education | Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, Beverly Hills High School |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Former Spouses | Jonny Lee Miller, Billy Bob Thornton, Brad Pitt |
| Children | Six children, biological and adopted |
| Famous For | Girl, Interrupted; Lara Croft: Tomb Raider; Maleficent; Mr. and Mrs. Smith |
| Major Awards | Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award |
Angelina Jolie’s Early Life in Los Angeles
On June 4, 1975, Angelina Jolie was born in Los Angeles. Actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand raised her alongside her older brother, James Haven. Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand both worked in the entertainment industry, so Jolie grew up around film sets from an early age.
Her relationship with her father grew distant for a period during her early adult years. Jolie has spoken publicly about that strain over the years, though she and Voight later reconnected at points in her career. She attended Beverly Hills High School before focusing fully on acting training.
Jolie trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in Los Angeles, where she studied method acting techniques. That early education gave her the technical foundation she later used to build a long film career. She also studied briefly at New York University before committing fully to acting.
How Angelina Jolie Started Her Acting Career
Jolie appeared in her first film role as a child, with a brief part in her father’s 1982 movie Lookin’ to Get Out. She did not return to acting seriously until her twenties, when she began landing roles in independent and studio films during the mid 1990s.
Her breakout role came in the 1995 film Hackers, where she played a computer hacker named Kate Libby. The role introduced her to a wider audience and led to a string of television and film projects. Jolie also gained early attention for HBO’s Gia, a biographical film about model Gia Carangi.
During this period, Jolie married actor Jonny Lee Miller in 1996 after meeting him on the set of the film Hackers. Their marriage ended in 1999. She later married actor Billy Bob Thornton in 2000. Jolie and Thornton divorced in 2003 after a widely covered public relationship.
Angelina Jolie’s Major Career Achievements and Public Recognition
Jolie received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1999 film Girl, Interrupted. She played a psychiatric patient named Lisa Rowe opposite Winona Ryder. That performance also earned her a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Jolie played the title role in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001, which turned her into an international action star. She reprised her role as Lara Croft in the 2003 sequel. Jolie then starred in Mr. and Mrs. Smith alongside Brad Pitt in 2005, a film that also marked the start of their relationship.
Critics praised Jolie’s performances in Changeling in 2008 and Salt in 2010, both of which reinforced her range as a dramatic and action lead. She also voiced Master Tigress in the animated Kung Fu Panda franchise, adding another dimension to her range as a performer. Jolie also earned a Golden Globe nomination for A Mighty Heart, where she starred as Mariane Pearl.
Jolie made her directorial debut with In the Land of Blood and Honey in 2011, a war drama set during the Bosnian conflict. She then directed Unbroken in 2014 and First They Killed My Father in 2017, the latter filmed largely in Cambodia. Jolie also played the title role in Disney’s Maleficent in 2014, one of her highest grossing films.
More recently, Jolie starred as opera singer Maria Callas in the 2025 film Maria, which earned strong critical reviews. She returned to screens in February 2026 with Couture, a drama directed by Alice Winocour that follows three women connected through the fashion industry. Jolie is also attached to several upcoming projects, including the action thriller Sunny and the spy film The Initiative with director Doug Liman.
Angelina Jolie’s Family, Personal Life, and Public Profile
Jolie began a relationship with Brad Pitt after filming Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2005. Jolie and Brad Pitt built a large blended family together over the following years and became one of the most photographed couples in the world. The couple married in 2014 after several years together.
Jolie adopted her first child, a son named Maddox, from Cambodia in 2002 while she was still married to Billy Bob Thornton. She later adopted a daughter, Zahara, from Ethiopia, and a son, Pax, from Vietnam. Jolie and Pitt also had three biological children together: Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne.
Public sources list Jolie’s family as six children in total, a detail she has referenced often in interviews about balancing work and parenting.
Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016, ending their marriage after two years. The divorce process included a long legal dispute over their French winery, Chateau Miraval, which continued in courts for several years afterward. Jolie has largely kept her post-divorce personal life private, focusing public attention on her children and her work.
Angelina Jolie’s Role in Humanitarian Work and Global Advocacy
Jolie began working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2001, first as a goodwill ambassador. The United Nations later promoted her to special envoy in 2012, a role focused on refugee crises and conflict zones. Jolie has visited refugee camps and conflict areas across dozens of countries during this work.
She co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative alongside former UK Foreign Secretary William Hague. Jolie also supports the Jolie Legal Fellowship, which trains lawyers to work on human rights and refugee cases. Her advocacy work extends to education programs for children affected by war and displacement.
Jolie also helped establish the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which funds schooling for young refugees. Cambodia granted her honorary citizenship in 2005 in recognition of her conservation and humanitarian work in the country. That connection to Cambodia also shaped her decision to film First They Killed My Father there years later.
Angelina Jolie’s Place Among Leading Hollywood Actresses
Jolie stands among a small group of actresses who built a career spanning acting, directing, and producing at a high level. Her Academy Award win, combined with major box office roles in the Tomb Raider and Maleficent franchises, gives her a rare mix of critical and commercial success. Few actors of her generation have matched her combination of award recognition and sustained global name recognition.
Her humanitarian work also sets her apart from most peers in the entertainment industry. Jolie’s decades long partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees gives her public profile a policy dimension that most actors do not share. That combination of acting career and international advocacy work has kept her a consistent subject of public interest for over two decades.
Angelina Jolie’s Financial Overview
Public entertainment industry estimates place Jolie’s net worth in the range of 100 to 160 million dollars, built mainly through decades of film salaries and producing credits. Because exact contract figures are private, any specific number should be treated as a public estimate rather than a confirmed figure.
Readers looking for a detailed financial breakdown can find that information in a separate net worth article, since this biography focuses on her life story and career rather than her earnings.
Why Angelina Jolie’s Career and Advocacy Still Draw Biography Searches
Her story spans several distinct career chapters, which keeps this biography a frequent search topic. She built a film career through independent roles, transitioned into blockbuster action films, then moved behind the camera as a director. Each phase added a new layer to her public identity.
Her personal life with Jonny Lee Miller, Billy Bob Thornton, and later Brad Pitt kept her in headlines for three decades, while her humanitarian work gave her a public role outside entertainment. That mix of acting career, family life, and international advocacy explains why Angelina Jolie remains one of the most searched names in American film.
Editorial Note
This article draws on public career records, official award listings, verified interviews, and reputable entertainment media coverage. Some personal and family details remain private, and this article avoids guessing where public information is limited. Biographical details may change over time as new public information becomes available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Angelina Jolie?
Angelina Jolie is an American actress, director, and humanitarian known for her Academy Award winning role in Girl, Interrupted and her work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Where was Angelina Jolie born?
Angelina Jolie was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 4, 1975.
How old is Angelina Jolie?
Angelina Jolie was born in 1975, which makes her 51 years old as of 2026.
What is Angelina Jolie known for?
Jolie is known for films including Girl, Interrupted, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Maleficent, along with her humanitarian work with refugees.
Who has Angelina Jolie been married to?
Jolie has been married to actor Jonny Lee Miller, actor Billy Bob Thornton, and actor Brad Pitt. All three marriages ended in divorce.
Does Angelina Jolie have children?
Yes, Jolie has six children, three adopted and three biological, including her son Maddox and daughter Shiloh.
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