Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian recognized for her high-profile screen roles and extensive advocacy. Throughout her career, her feature films have grossed over $6.9 billion globally, and she has frequently been ranked among Hollywood's highest-paid performers. She is the recipient of numerous major honors, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and three Golden Globe Awards.

Born in Los Angeles, California, to actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, Jolie developed an early interest in acting through her mother. She trained for two years at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute during her youth and later returned to performance studies after graduating from high school. Despite personal struggles during her adolescence and a complex, sporadic relationship with her father, she pursued screen roles, appearing in music videos, student films, and minor roles before launching her mainstream career.

Jolie made her professional lead film debut in the science-fiction movie Cyborg 2 (1993) and achieved her initial breakthrough in Hackers (1995). Her critical standing rose significantly in the late 1990s through acclaimed television film performances in George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), both of which earned her Golden Globe Awards. In 1999, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of a psychiatric patient in the drama Girl, Interrupted.

Her starring role in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) established her status as a global action lead. She went on to achieve major commercial success in feature films such as Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Wanted (2008), Salt (2010), the dark fantasy features Maleficent (2014) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019), and the superhero release Eternals (2021). Alongside action and fantasy roles, she earned praise for dramatic roles in A Mighty Heart (2007), Changeling (2008)—which yielded a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress—and Maria (2024). She also lent her voice to animated features including Shark Tale and the Kung Fu Panda series.

As a filmmaker, Jolie has written and directed several war dramas, including In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011), Unbroken (2014), First They Killed My Father (2017), and Without Blood (2024). In theatrical production, she served as a producer on the stage production The Outsiders (2024), which received the Tony Award for Best Musical.

In addition to her entertainment work, Jolie is prominent for her international humanitarian contributions. Having served as a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, she has conducted field missions to conflict zones and refugee camps worldwide while advocating for conservation, education, and women's rights. Her honors include the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and an honorary appointment as a Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. Jolie has six children with her former husband, actor Brad Pitt, and was previously married to actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton.