To celebrate Angelina Jolie’s 45th today, we look back on her amazing career so far both on screen and off screen.
As a public figure, Angelina Jolie is known as one of the most influential and powerful people in the entertainment industry. However, just like everyone else she didn’t start out famous, so we look back on her career so far from a young girl born in Los Angeles to the star she is today.
Jolie was brought up in Los Angeles, California. Acting was common in her immediate family as both her parents, Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand were both actors as well as her brother James Haven. From her fathers’ side, she is of German and Slovak descent whereas on her mothers’ side she is mainly French Canadian, Dutch and German.
Her acting career began at the ripe age of 16 years old, but it wasn’t always plain sailing for Angelina as she first found it difficult to pass auditions. At first, she appeared in some of her brother’s student films but her professional film career began in 1993 when she acquired her first leading role in Cyborg 2.
From there, she went on to star in her first Hollywood picture just two years later in 1995 in Hackers. However, this film failed to make any profit at the box office, but it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Jolie as following the release of the video, the film developed a cult fandom.
Image credit: IMDb
Angelina Jolie finally made her breakthrough after winning a Golden Globe in 1997 for George Wallace – a film about the life of Alabama Governor who was also a presidential candidate, George Wallace where Jolie played George’s second wife. The film received positive reviews, as well as winning awards for the Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film.
Jolie’s success continued over the next few years when she starred in films including Hell’s Kitchen (1998), Playing by Heart (1998) – alongside Sean Connery, Gillian Anderson and Ryan Phillippe – and Girl, Interrupted (1999).
Some of Angelina’s more notable roles came about a few years later in 2001 in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider which made her an international superstar. Although the film produced negative views, she was admired for her physical performance in the film.
Not only is Angelina well known for her acting career, but also her personal life. After a two-month relationship in 2000, Jolie married fellow actor Billy Bob Thornton after meeting on the set of Pushing Tin (1999). In 2002, the couple adopted a child from Cambodia, however they separated three months later.
In 2005, she starred in action-comedy Mr & Mrs Smith alongside Brad Pitt and she fell in love with him during filming. However, at the time of filming Pitt was in a relationship with Jennifer Aniston and rumours circulated Jolie had initiated the divorce between the two. The rumours were denied; however, their relationship was confirmed when she announced in 2006, she was pregnant with his child.
Over their twelve-year relationship, they became as we all known them today as “Brangelina”, one of Hollywood’s most loved couples. Their family continued to grow as they adopted three more before their engagement in April 2012 and married in 2014. Unfortunately, everyone’s favourite married couple divorced in September 2016 (with hearts breaking around the world).
Image credit: Harper’s Bazaar
Angelina has always been recognised for her charitable work as at only 26 years of age, she became a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and from there she created a positive image through the media.
Angelina Jolie is one of the rare actresses that is not only good at the job she does, but she gives back to something she deeply cares about such as Refugees and she does all of this whilst looking remarkable and remains one of Hollywood’s finest.
By Katie Green
Feature image: hdqwalls.com