Uninterrupted Jolie

Background:

Part Czechoslovakian, English, and Native American, beauty Angelina Jolie is quickly becoming Hollywood's bad girl icon. The twenty nine-year-old Jolie has already been awarded three Golden Globes and an Oscar since appearing in HBO's Gia (1998) and costarring with Winona Ryder in the movie Girl, Interrupted (1999). Frequently named as the sexiest woman, Jolie has been linked to such high-profile names as actor Timothy Hutton, Olivier Martinez, Jared Leto, Colin Farrell and yacht broker Daniele Patini. She was even arguably reported to have a special relationship with her brother James Haven.

The Hollywood passion stands 5' 8" with measurements of 36C-28-36 and has been recently blamed for the split of actor Brad Pitt and former Friends star Jennifer Aniston. She was rumored to be very passionate with Brad during the making of their movie Mr. And Mrs. Smith (2005). Reacting to the gossip, Jolie stated, "I've been painted as the Wicked Witch of the West and a marriage wrecker. But all I've been to Brad is a shoulder to cry on. Half the world believes we had an affair and I'm the one to blame for his split. But the truth is I was there to help him through his pain. I would never sleep with a married man."

Despite the spreading rumors saying that she dated Brad Pitt, Jolie was lately reported to be dating a mystery man. She said, "We focus on who's sleeping with who but miss who you are really with."

Always a non-stop controversy, Jolie recently admitted to a magazine that she is bisexual. She said, "I love women and men equally and I see people as people and love as love, so I think it makes sense that a woman would know I'd appreciate and love her as much as I would a man."

The Oscar-winning actress has done valuable acts for several discordant countries like Pakistan, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone by donating and visiting refugee camps there. Because of her support Jolie was chosen as the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees Emissary (August 2001) and achieved the U.N. Correspondents Association's First Citizen of the World Award (2003). Jolie also donates one third of her salary to charity.

Stars at Home

Childhood and Family:

Originating from a family fully loaded with acting skills and recognition, Angelina Jolie Voight was born on June 4, 1975. She is the daughter of Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy (1969), Coming Home (1978)) and half Iroquois Indian mother, former model/actress Marcheline Bertrand. She also has an older brother, James Haven Voight (film director, born 1973) and a musician uncle, Chip Taylor (a.k.a. James Wesley Voight).

After their parent's divorce in 1976, their mother raised one-year-old Jolie and older brother James in Palisades, New York. Once contemplating owning a funeral business, Jolie instead followed her acting heritage and attended the Lee Stratsberg Theater Institute when she was 11 years old. Later she attended night classes at New York University, majored in Film, but later dropped out in order to pursue her acting career.

On March 28, 1996, Jolie married Hackers' costar Jonny Lee Miller, but the couple later divorced on February 3, 1999.

Jolie eloped to Las Vegas with Pushing Tin (1999) fellow actor Billy Bob Thornton on May 5, 2000 and adopted Cambodian son Maddox Jolie in 2002. In the same year, the couple filed for divorce on July 18.

Bad Girl For Oscar

Career:

"Therapy? I don't need that. The roles that I choose are my therapy." Angelina Jolie.

A model at age 16, Angelina Jolie was seen in several music videos, most memorably the Rolling Stones, Lenny Kravitz, Meat Loaf, and the Lemonheads. After dropping her studies at the New York University, Jolie joined the L.A.'s Met Theatre Group alongside Ed Harris and Holly Hunter.

After several undistinguished roles, including one in Cyborg II: Glass Shadow, Jolie landed a role in the virtual-thriller Hackers (1995, Matthew Lillard and Jonny Lee Miller). Despite criticism about the film, her performance received rave reviews. This would just be the beginning. Several years later, Joile would earn the status as Hollywood's latest 'bad girl' and would become an A-list actress for her brilliant performances. She would achieve wider recognition after being nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for her role as Cornelia Wallace, costarred Gary Sinise, in TNT's George Wallace (1997) and exploded playing model Gia Marie Carangi on the HBO's super hit Gia (1998).

Though Jolie was victorious on the small screen, she gained fewer achievements during her first big screen appearances, which included Foxfire (1996) and Playing God (1997, Timothy Hutton). However, she gradually became noticed again after being seen with Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands in the drama comedy Playing By Heart (1998). Her career continued to rise with Pushing Tin (1999, costarring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett), and the thriller The Bone Collector (1999) where she costarred with Denzel Washington. Girl, Interrupted (1999, costarring Winona Ryder) rocketed her name to superstardom. Jolie portrayed the role of Lisa Rowe and earned an Oscar.

With her rise in status, Joile stayed busy with films. She portrayed characters in Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000, costarring Nicholas Cage) and the title role as the adventurous Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life (2003). She also starred in Original Sin (2001) alongside Antonio Banderas and played Sarah Jordan in Beyond Borders (2003).

During 2004 and 2005, Jolie's admirers can view her in Sky Captain, The World of Tomorrow (2004) and Alexander (2004), in which she plays Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great. Fans should not miss her upcoming film with Brad Pitt, Mr. And Mrs. Smith (2005).

"Because I am a bad girl, people always automatically think that I am a bad girl, or that I carry a dark secret with me or that I'm obsessed with death. The truth is that I am probably the least morbid person one can meet. If I think more about death than some other people, it is probably because I love life more than they do." Angelina Jolie.

Awards:

• ShoWest: Supporting Actress of the Year, 2000
• Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress, Girl, Interrupted, 1999
• Golden Globe: Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Girl, Interrupted, 1999
• Screen Actors Guild: Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Theatrical Motion Picture), Girl, Interrupted, 1999
• National Board of Review: Breakthrough Performance Award, Playing by Heart; cited with Billy Crudup (Without Limits), 1998
• Golden Satellite: Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TV, Gia, 1998
• Golden Globe: Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TV, Gia, 1998
• Screen Actors Guild: Female Actor (Television Movie or Miniseries), Gia, 1998
• Golden Globe: Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie, George Wallace, 1997