Childhood
Angelina Jolie was born on June 4, 1975 in Los Angeles to Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and former model/actress Marcheline Bertrand.
She is of Czechoslovakian and American descent on her father's side and French and American Indian heritage on her mother's side.
She is extremely close to and protective of her brother James Haven. He often accompanies her to awards shows.
After their parent's divorce in 1976, their mother raised one-year-old Jolie and older brother James in Palisades, New York.
Jolie began studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute at the tender age of 11, six years after making her film debut in Lookin' to Get Out, starring her father Jon Voight.
Later she attended night classes at New York University, majored in Film, but later dropped out in order to pursue her acting career.
She says: “There’s something about death that is comforting. The thought you could die tomorrow frees you to appreciate your life now”.
Career
At the age of 16 Angie started working as a professional model in London, New York and Los Angeles and appeared in music videos of Meatloaf, Lenny Kravitz, Lemonheads and the Rolling Stones.
In addition, she has acted in five student films for the USC School of Cinema, all directed by her brother, James Haven.
Wanting to pursuing her acting career seriously, Jolie studied at the Met Theatre group in L.A., whose alumni include Ed Harris and Holly Hunter.
Her first part in a feature film was as Kate Libby in HACKERS, about a group of high school computer hackers.
Jolie bagged her most memorable role in the film Gia, which show cased the life of the bisexual and heroin addict Gia Carangi, who also died from AIDS.
Her acting skills got her more challenging roles in the coming years. In 1999 she co-starred with Billy Bob Thornton (her current husband) in the comedy “Pushing Tin” and in the same year she clinched a powerful role in “The Bone Collector” alongside Denzel Washington.
But it was her supporting role in 1999's Girl, Interrupted that showed audiences her dramatic skills, garnering her Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
With her rise in status, Joile stayed busy with films. She portrayed characters in Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000, costarring Nicholas Cage) and the title role as the adventurous Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life (2003). She also starred in Original Sin (2001) alongside Antonio Banderas and played Sarah Jordan in Beyond Borders (2003).
In 2004, Angelina was busy starring in Taking Lives, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Shark Tale, and as Olympias in Oliver Stone's Alexander.
Fans should not miss her upcoming film with Brad Pitt, Mr. And Mrs. Smith (2005).
