Angelina Jolie admits that she was troubled in her teens and early 20s and they were difficult years for her. She says she was "unhappy" and very "unhealthy," and it wasn't until she met Brad Pitt (who was married at the time to Jennifer Aniston - we must not forget that, like we could), had babies and started her humanitarian work, that she turned things around.
Jolie said, "I knew I had to find purpose and balance before I became a mother. I wouldn't have jumped into it until I knew I was all right and could be stable."
Angelina also talks about what beauty is to her and how she found hers and became more secure after becoming a mother.
"I know this is going to sound corny, but I first became happy with the way I look when I became a mother. There's this idea that beauty is when someone does your hair and puts a lot of make-up on you and sticks your face on the cover of a magazine. Is that beauty?"
She adds, "You know what is beautiful? My mom (the late Marcheline Bertrand, who died of cancer after a 7 1/2 year battle last January). She was beautiful to me, and I look more like my mom as I get older. Something else comes out of you when you become a parent and, as you get older, you start to see more character in your face." Yes - kids wear you out...ha.
"Now, when I look at myself, I just see somebody at peace, and I see a mom, and I see my own relatives in my face - and that's a kind of beauty that exists for everybody and doesn't disappear."
Jolie talks about the making of Changeling, and how it took a toll on her emotionally. It made her want to keep her kids a little closer at all times.
"It's harrowing to watch and, yes, it was harrowing to make. During this film I was much more paranoid about my own children - where they were, what they were doing.
"But Walter's story haunted me. Throughout filming I was hugging the kids and keeping them close to me."
The Christine Collin's story is similar to modern day Madeleine McCann case. Angie said, "My heart goes out to that family. Not to know what has happened to your child is just the worst thing in the world.
"I love Brad and if anything happened to him it would wreck me, but if anything happened to my kids... it's something I can't even think about, it's so upsetting."
For Angelina, portraying Christine Collin helped her reconnect with her mother in a strange way. She drew heavily on the memory of her mom. "Mom was so gentle, just a very sweet person. And yet if you were to take her kids, she would have been just like Christine - she would have found the strength to do what was needed to get her son back.
"I was feeling very frail [about my mother's death]. But it was actually a time of reconnecting with her. When she first passed away, I couldn't look at pictures of her - I would just start to cry.
"But then I looked in the mirror and I could see her in my face - the same brown hair, the way she'd smile. I kind of played her in this film. To spend time with her in that way was very healing. When Brad saw the film, the first thing he said to me was, 'I can see your mom...'"
How do Angelina and Brad balance work and parenting six children?
Jolie hasn't worked for over a year since she finished Changeling, but she'll be back at it early next year. "I'm going to make a film [The Mercenary: Love and Honor] in February, and after that I won't work again for another year.
"But it was hard even to decide that. I had a lot of discussions at home - can we balance things? Can Mommy go to work? Can it be all right? Maybe I'll do a few months' work every year or so.
"Brad and I are trying to balance our lives so that we raise our kids properly, and we are also trying to make sure we are fulfilled - as artists, as people. When we get film offers, we have to ask ourselves, 'Will it be a good thing for the family?'
"Fortunately [Brad's] such a great father, and when he goes to work, I'm home, and vise versa. And any mother knows that sometimes just a little time for yourself makes you a better mom. You get that one night's good sleep and you're so much better the next day."
[Source]
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