Angelina Jolie is a world-renowned actress, a gorgeous woman, a New York resident and, most importantly, a devoted and caring mother. Jolie has six beautiful children: Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Pax Jolie-Pitt, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Knox Jolie-Pitt and Vivienne Jolie-Pitt. Three children of the Jolie-Pitt family are adopted. Learn more about Jolie, adoption and the difficulties of raising all of her children at newyorka.
A little bit about Jolie and her relationships
Future actress Angelina Jolie was born in Los Angeles in 1975. She was brought up in a family of actors, therefore she dedicated her entire future life to acting.
Jolie entered her first relationship at an early age. In particular, at the age of 14, she dated a guy, and her mother even let them live together in their house. She took this action to ensure that young Jolie did not drop out of school and instead continued to study while exploring her first romantic feelings. However, Jolie eventually broke up with her boyfriend and devoted herself entirely to acting.
Later, Jolie started a relationship with actor Jonny Lee Miller, whom she married in 1996. It is also worth noting that before her marriage, she was in a relationship with actress and model Jenny Shimizu.
Jolie’s first marriage didn’t last long, and in 2000, she remarried to Billy Bob Thornton. However, this marriage was also short-lived.
Love scandals with Jolie
Jolie was believed to have been involved in the divorce of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, which resulted in a high-profile love scandal. Many assumed she was the reason for the divorce of the actors in 2005. But she dispelled all the rumors since she thought an affair with a married man was humiliating and awful. That was all because her father cheated on her mother.
After starting a relationship with Pitt, Jolie revealed that she fell in love with him while filming “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Both actors did not publicly comment on their relationship in its early stages, until in 2006, they announced that they were expecting a child, which stunned the fans.
Jolie’s children
Angelina Jolie is not only a well-known actress, director and humanist, but she is also a caring and loving mother. Being a mother is one of the most important roles in her life.
Jolie’s family is truly unique. It is quite big and diverse. She has six children, three of which are adopted: Maddox, Zahara and Pax.
Angelina Jolie’s motherhood journey began in March 2002, when she adopted her first child, Maddox Chivan, from a shelter in Battambang. At that time, Jolie was in Cambodia filming “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”, and she witnessed the conditions in which children live. After seeing all that, she made the decision to adopt.
Jolie decided to visit a local shelter in Cambodia, where she met Maddox. He was born in 2001 and has been in the shelter for a few months. It should be mentioned that Jolie only went to one shelter and immediately felt an indescribable bond with Maddox. He was little, lying in a small box dangling from the ceiling. When Jolie saw this, she couldn’t hold back her tears. She frequently remarked that the adoption procedure was full of challenges. She went through a lot of legal and bureaucratic obstacles. However, she made a firm decision to adopt Maddox.
Jolie was still in a relationship with Billy Bob Thornton when Maddox was adopted. However, she made the decision to adopt a baby on her own. So, once Jodie got home, the couple announced their breakup. As a result, in the first years of his life, Jolie raised baby Maddox as a single mother.
When the actress began a relationship with Pitt, he didn’t hesitate to start the adoption procedure for Maddox.
Maddox grew up to be an extremely intelligent and witty young man. As a teenager, he got interested in the humanitarian initiatives that his mother, Jolie, was engaged in, as well as directing. At the age of 15, he made his debut as an executive producer in Jolie’s film “First They Killed My Father”. The film was based on her friend Loung Ung’s book about the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia. Jolie agreed to this film so that Maddox could find out who he was and could become closer to his home country.
Three years after Madox was adopted, Jolie followed her heart to Ethiopia. In 2005, she adopted Zahara Marley from an orphanage in Addis Ababa. Zahara was six months old at the time, suffering from malnutrition and related illnesses. Jolie’s decision to adopt Zahara was motivated by a desire to give another child a chance at a better life.
Raising children proved to be not an easy effort for the actress, as it is for any mother. The actress has repeatedly openly spoken about the challenges of raising children in a multicultural family. It should be mentioned that Jolie makes every effort to keep Zahara true to her Ethiopian heritage. They even once traveled to Ethiopia together so Zahara could learn more about her roots, which proves Jolie’s dedication to preserving her children’s ethnic identity.
Already in early 2006, Jolie and Pitt announced to the world that they were expecting their first biological child. The couple had been dating since 2005 and had two adopted children, so they were familiar with the joys and difficulties of parenthood. Jolie gave birth to her daughter Shiloh Nouvel in Namibia in 2006. There were some challenges with the upbringing of a biological child as well. At a young age, Shiloh considered herself a boy and referred to herself as “one of the brothers”. Jolie responded calmly to the child’s self-identification. In an interview with Reuters, she stated that she believes her daughter is charming, and she values and respects any of her choices. Jolie also stated that she will never be the kind of mother who forces her children to be someone they are not. She also emphasized that children should be able to express themselves freely and without judgment, as this is a crucial part of their development.
Despite the birth of a biological child, Jolie’s journey to expand her family through adoption did not end there.
In 2007, Jolie traveled to Vietnam, where she adopted another child, Pax Thien, from an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City. Pax was three years old at the time of the adoption. Unlike Maddox and Zahara, the kid had gone through numerous challenges at this age. Therefore, Jolie and Pitt made every effort to ensure that the child could adjust to a new family and a new life. They did everything possible to create a stable and caring environment in the household.
The following year, 2008, Jolie gave birth to twins, son Knox and daughter Vivienne. When Jolie and Pitt returned home from the hospital, they described their household as “chaos.” It was challenging with two newborns and four more kids growing up. However, this has been the case only for some time. The elder children understood how difficult it was and helped their mother. They were happy to choose clothes for the twins and frequently assisted with changing and holding them.
Cultural upbringing
Throughout the time of their relationship, Jolie and Pitt were referred to as “Brangelina”. This term was coined by the media. Their love story, personal life and parenting drew interest from the entire New York media and population.
The pair only married in 2014 and divorced in 2016. Unfortunately, after a series of disagreements, Jolie filed for divorce.
Despite their breakup, Jolie and Pitt raised wonderful children. They have six children, each with their own distinct experiences and needs. Finding an approach to everyone is a huge effort. In numerous interviews, Jolie has emphasized the significance of recognizing and appreciating her children’s distinctive traits. She emphasizes that raising adopted children necessitates heightened sensitivity and knowledge of their past experiences and traumas.
One of Jolie’s biggest concerns was giving foster children a sense of belonging and security. She talked about the importance of keeping open communication, which allowed her children to express their feelings and ask questions about their backgrounds.
Jolie’s parenting philosophy places a strong emphasis on cultural awareness and identity. She made a great effort to educate all of her children about their origins and heritage. Jolie shared her experience celebrating Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, with Pax, making him understand the meaning of this holiday. Similarly, Jolie immersed herself in Ethiopian culture through music, art and food to help Zahara feel more connected to her roots. Jolie’s parenting style demonstrates a strong regard for her children’s diverse backgrounds and an understanding of the importance of cultural identity.
