Angelina Jolie
Who was Angelina Jolie?
American actress, humanitarian and filmmaker (born 1975)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Angelina Jolie (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Angelina Jolie Voight was born on June 4, 1975, in Los Angeles, California, to actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. She went to Beverly Hills High School and Tappan Zee High School before studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York. Her father’s acting career introduced her to performance early on, setting the stage for her to become one of the most famous actresses worldwide. She also studied at New York University, expanding her education alongside her artistic training.
Jolie first appeared on screen as a child with her father in Lookin' to Get Out (1982), but truly started her career with the low-budget science fiction film Cyborg 2 (1993) and moved forward with Hackers (1995). She became well-known with the TV films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), with Gia especially highlighting her dramatic talent. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2000 for her role in the 1999 drama Girl, Interrupted, proving herself as a serious dramatic talent. Playing Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) further increased her popularity among mainstream blockbuster audiences worldwide.
In the next two decades, Jolie balanced commercial success with critically acclaimed drama work. Action films such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005), Wanted (2008), and Salt (2010) kept her a strong box office presence, while films like A Mighty Heart (2007) and Changeling (2008) brought her critical praise, with Changeling earning her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Playing Maleficent in the 2014 fantasy film and its 2019 sequel proved her ongoing appeal, and she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Eternals (2021). Movies she's been in have grossed over $6.9 billion worldwide, and she's been named Hollywood's highest-paid actress multiple times.
Beyond acting, Jolie has been very active as a filmmaker, writing and directing war dramas like In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011), Unbroken (2014), and First They Killed My Father (2017). She also produced the Broadway musical The Outsiders (2024), which won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Her work in humanitarian efforts is as notable as her entertainment career. As a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, she has advocated for displaced persons and refugees worldwide. She received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2013 and was honored as a Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2014 for her humanitarian work. She has also been named an honorary citizen of both Sarajevo and Cambodia.
Before Fame
Angelina Jolie grew up in Los Angeles with a strong connection to Hollywood. Her father, Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight, introduced her to film early on, though her parents separated when she was a baby. She went to Beverly Hills High School and Tappan Zee High School, and then attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute as a teenager, where she trained seriously in acting. She also did some modeling in her teenage years in New York.
Even though she faced personal challenges in her youth, Jolie stayed focused on her acting career. Her early film roles in the early 1990s may not have been notable, but they gave her the experience she needed, which led to her critical acclaim on television later in the decade. Her choice to take on emotionally intense and complex roles in films like Gia paved the way for the recognition she received with Girl, Interrupted.
Key Achievements
- Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2000 for Girl, Interrupted
- Received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2013
- Appointed Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2014 for humanitarian work
- Produced The Outsiders (2024), which won the Tony Award for Best Musical
- Served as Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, conducting field missions across dozens of countries
Did You Know?
- 01.Jolie has been granted honorary citizenship by two countries: Cambodia in 2005 and Sarajevo in 2012, both in recognition of her humanitarian work in those regions.
- 02.She directed First They Killed My Father (2017) in the Khmer language, working with a cast of non-professional actors, based on the memoir of Cambodian human rights activist Loung Ung.
- 03.Her full birth name is Angelina Jolie Voight, but she has professionally used her middle name as her surname since early in her career to establish an identity separate from her father Jon Voight.
- 04.She received the Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) in 2014, one of the highest honors awarded by the British government to non-British nationals for extraordinary service.
- 05.Jolie made her film debut at the age of seven in Lookin' to Get Out (1982), appearing briefly alongside her father Jon Voight in what was an early glimpse of her path into cinema.
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Saturn Award for Best Actress | 2009 | — |
| People's Choice Awards | 2005 | — |
| 2011 Teen Choice Awards | 2011 | — |
| honorary citizen of Sarajevo | 2012 | — |
| honorary citizen of Cambodia | 2005 | — |
| Sergio Vieira de Mello Citizen of the World | 2003 | — |
| Freedom Award | 2007 | — |
| Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award | 2013 | — |
| Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George | 2014 | — |
| Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | 2000 | — |
| Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film | 1998 | — |
| Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film | 1999 | — |
| Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | 2000 | — |
| 2015 Kids' Choice Awards | — | — |
| National Board of Review Award for Best Breakthrough Performance – Female | 1998 | — |
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | 1999 | — |
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role | 2000 | — |
| Hollywood Film Awards | 2017 | — |
| Saturn Award for Best Action or Adventure Film | 2015 | — |
| Order of Saint Michael and Saint George | — | — |