Angelina Jolie

Lore & Background

Jolie made her screen debut as a child alongside her father, Jon Voight, in Lookin' to Get Out (1982). Her film career began in earnest a decade later with the low-budget production Cyborg 2 (1993), followed by her first leading role in Hackers (1995). After starring in the television films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), Jolie won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1999 drama Girl, Interrupted. Her portrayal of the titular heroine in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) established her as a leading lady. Jolie's commercial success continued with roles in the action films Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Wanted (2008), and Salt (2010), as well as in the fantasy films Maleficent (2014) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Eternals (2021).

Jolie gained critical praise for her dramatic performances in A Mighty Heart (2007), Changeling (2008), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Maria (2024). She also had voice roles in the animated films Shark Tale (2004) and the Kung Fu Panda franchise (2008–2016). As a filmmaker, Jolie directed and wrote the war dramas In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011), Unbroken (2014), First They Killed My Father (2017) and Without Blood (2024). She also produced the musical The Outsiders (2024), which won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

Jolie is known for her humanitarian efforts. The causes she promotes include conservation, education, and women's rights. She has been noted for her advocacy on behalf of refugees as a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She has undertaken field missions to refugee camps and war zones worldwide. In addition to receiving a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award among other honors, Jolie was made an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG). As a public figure, Jolie has been cited as one of the most powerful and influential people in the American entertainment industry. She has been cited as the world's most beautiful woman by various publications. Her personal life, including her relationships and health, has been the subject of widespread attention. Jolie is divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller, Billy Bob Thornton, and Brad Pitt. She has six children with Pitt.

Reader's Guide

Angelina Jolie's significance lies in her dual impact as a commercially successful actress and a prominent humanitarian. Her career spans from independent films to blockbuster franchises, with her role in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider cementing her as a leading lady. She has won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and earned a nomination for Best Actress. As a filmmaker, she has directed war dramas and produced a Tony Award-winning musical. Her humanitarian work as a UNHCR Special Envoy has taken her to refugee camps and war zones, earning her a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and an honorary damehood. Jolie's personal life, including her high-profile marriages and six children, has drawn widespread media attention. Her legacy includes breaking barriers for actresses in action roles and using her platform for advocacy on conservation, education, and women's rights.

Did You Know?

• Jolie won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1999 drama Girl, Interrupted.
• She has been named Hollywood's highest-paid actress multiple times.
• Jolie was made an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG).
• She is divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller, Billy Bob Thornton, and Brad Pitt.

The Role That Redefined a Classic Villain

Jolie's portrayal of Maleficent marked a significant departure from the one-dimensional antagonist of the 1959 animated Sleeping Beauty. In this live-action retelling, the character's journey spans victim, villain, and ultimately hero, driven by the betrayal of her former lover Stefan. Jolie herself described the role as "slightly insane, extremely vibrant, a little wicked" with a big sense of humor, insisting she was "one of those characters that, for me, you couldn't do halfway." She acknowledged the part was among the most emotionally demanding she had ever undertaken, noting that Maleficent "represents all sides of what it is to be human, even though she is not." The actress found the experience "much heavier, much more emotional, and much more difficult" than anticipated. Beyond acting, Jolie also served as executive producer, deepening her creative investment in shaping how this once-simplistic Disney antagonist was reimagined for a new generation of audiences.

A Long Road to the Screen

The journey from concept to cinema spanned over a decade. First conceived as an animated project in 2003, the film pivoted to live-action in 2006 following Disney's acquisition of Pixar. Tim Burton was initially attached to helm the project but ultimately stepped away, with the role passing to Robert Stromberg for his directorial debut. Linda Woolverton penned the screenplay. Jolie committed to the title role in January 2012, and the remaining principal cast—including Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville—joined between March and May of that year. Principal photography ran from June through October 2012 at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. The film had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on May 28, 2014, before hitting U.S. theaters two days later under the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures banner.

Box Office Triumph and Industry Recognition

Despite receiving mixed critical reviews, Maleficent proved to be a substantial commercial force. The film grossed over $758 million worldwide, securing its place as the fourth-highest-grossing release of 2014. At the 87th Academy Awards, it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design, a nod to the elaborate visual world built around Jolie's horned, winged fairy. The film's success also paved the way for a sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, which arrived in theaters in 2019. For Jolie, the project represented a rare dual role—front-and-center as the star while also wielding influence behind the camera as executive producer. The combination of a beloved fairy-tale source material, a fresh sympathetic angle on a familiar villain, and a star power that drew audiences in droves made the film a defining entry in her filmography and a notable milestone for Disney's live-action adaptation strategy.

Reimagining the Fairy Tale

Rooted in the 1697 fairy tale and the 1959 Walt Disney animated Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent takes a fundamentally different approach to its source material. Rather than presenting the fairy as a purely malicious figure, the narrative traces how a loving relationship between Maleficent and Stefan curdles into betrayal when he drugs her and burns off her wings with an iron bracelet. Her subsequent curse on his daughter Aurora—pricking a finger on a spinning wheel before her sixteenth birthday—stems from wounded pride rather than inherent evil. The most striking reimagining comes in the film's climax: it is not Prince Philip's romantic kiss that breaks the spell, but Maleficent's genuine maternal love, a forehead kiss born of years of secretly caring for the girl she once cursed. The story closes with elderly Aurora narrating her own tale, reframing the "Sleeping Beauty" legend from the perspective of the woman the world once called its villain.