Angelina Jolie covers the latest issue of WSJ. Magazine. It’s a surprising piece, written by Elisa Lipsky-Karasz, which largely ignores the tabloid version of Jolie and barely touches the divorce from Brad Pitt. Jolie spent years healing with her children after the Pitt marriage went t-ts up in 2016, but slowly and steadily, she’s been rebuilding her life. She’s back to taking acting roles with some regularity. She’s directed another movie (Without Blood), and she’s filming the Maria Callas bio-pic. She also confirms, in this piece, that she’s signed on to a third Maleficent movie (no additional details). While she’s still being sued by and countersuing Brad Pitt over the sale of her half of Miraval, she’s already using the money from the sale to start Atelier Jolie. Which seems to be the main point of this WSJ. piece – Jolie is hyping, in her hilariously awkward way, her new thing, this fashion collective she’s dreamt up. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
Playing Maria Callas: “I’m a little terrified to do it. I’m the one who whispers ‘Happy Birthday’ at the party. My body reacts very strongly to stress. My blood sugar goes up and down. I suddenly had Bell’s palsy six months before my divorce.”
The past seven years, where she was mostly at home in LA: “We had to heal. There are things we needed to heal from.”
On Hollywood today: “I wouldn’t be an actress today,” says Jolie. Maybe theater, she caveats, but not Hollywood. “When I was starting out, it wasn’t as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much.”
Winning an Oscar at 24: “Because I grew up around Hollywood, I was never very impressed with it. I never bought into it as significant or important.”
Her closest friends are refugees: “There’s a reason people who have been through hardship are also much more honest and much more connected, and I am more relaxed with them. Why do I like spending time with people who’ve survived and are refugees? They’ve confronted so much in life that it brings forward not just strength, but humanity. I realized my closest friends are refugees. Maybe four out of six of the women that I am close to are from war and conflict.”
No social life: Meanwhile, in L.A., “I don’t really have…a social life,” says Jolie. She says she isn’t currently dating.
Her children are the people closest to her: “They are the closest people to me and my life, and they’re my close friends. We’re seven very different people, which is our strength.”
The public gave her a career: “They’ve also chosen how they want you. Since I was young, people liked the part of me that’s pretty tough and maybe a bit wild—that’s the part that I think people enjoy. I’m not the one [who] you want to hear about my pain or my sadness. You know, that’s not entertaining.”
Jolie plans to eventually leave L.A. “It’s part of what happened after my divorce. I lost the ability to live and travel as freely. I will move when I can,” she says, and spend more time at her home in Cambodia. “I grew up in quite a shallow place,. Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity.”
On Atelier Jolie: She also seems to have an almost compulsive need to work. “I can’t stop. I always think there’s like a fight coming.” Jolie says people around her laughed when she told them about her new venture: “You, in fashion? No.” “I’ve never been to a fashion show or Met Ball my entire life.”
She has so many ideas for Atelier Jolie, but she knows it will run at a loss: “I’ll probably lose money, maybe even for a while,” says Jolie. The 6,600-square-foot space was advertised at $60,000 per month for a minimum 10-year lease; a representative for the brand declined to share the terms of the lease but said Jolie is paying less and isn’t committed to 10 years. “If I can eventually put into practice some things that I think are improvements and I just break even, that’s a huge victory.”
She consulted human rights lawyers before consulting designers: “What would be an ethical business? We are trying to reverse-engineer it a little bit. I don’t know the answers. Can we avoid doing real damage—not only to the earth, but the garment workers? … Is it possible that I could go somewhere and enjoy making clothes, enjoy wearing clothes and not hurt anybody? And actually maybe treat people well?”
Her style: “My daughter jokes that I wear too many trench coats. It’s just like a hiding thing.”
She’s comfortable with her body now: “It’s like I see my scars and my things, and I feel like I’ve lived. And I’m having these big experiences, and I have this map of this complex body that’s changed over time. You and I both know that a woman with a full life is very sexy.”
I want her to get back with Jonny Lee Miller so badly, my god. I feel like they would be so good together now, at this age. I know that’s far from the point of this interview, but I honestly feel like she needs to let one good man in for a weekend and build from there. As for Atelier Jolie, WSJ. Mag lists all of the smaller projects she’s building within the Basquiat studio, not just full fashion design, but a cafe and sewing lessons and classes that people can take. It sounds really cool, like a modern fashion-based commune. She’s also already on her way out of LA – she’s reportedly apartment-hunting in New York as we speak, and now that the kids are older, I would imagine she’ll be traveling a lot more.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- New York City, NY – Actress Angelina Jolie steps out for the night in New York City wearing a dark blue blazer, with a matching dress and leather purse. Pictured: Angelina Jolie BACKGRID USA 15 AUGUST 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: North Woods / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Angelina Jolie exits a hotel and heads to a recording studio in Paris. The actress is currently in town filming the biopic “Maria” (Maria Callas), she plays the singer whose centenary will be celebrated on December 2, 2023. Pictured: Angelina Jolie BACKGRID USA 12 OCTOBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Angelina Jolie walks dogs on the set of the biopic “Maria” on the life of Maria Callas in Paris, France, October 12, 2023. The actress plays the singer whose centenary will be celebrated on December 2, 2023. Angelina Jolie walks dogs on the set of the biopic “Maria” on the life of Maria Callas in Paris, France. Pictured: Angelina Jolie BACKGRID USA 12 OCTOBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Angelina Jolie walks dogs on the set of the biopic “Maria” on the life of Maria Callas in Paris, France, October 12, 2023. The actress plays the singer whose centenary will be celebrated on December 2, 2023. Angelina Jolie walks dogs on the set of the biopic “Maria” on the life of Maria Callas in Paris, France. Pictured: Angelina Jolie BACKGRID USA 12 OCTOBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Peloponnese, GREECE – Angelina Jolie spotted at Katakolo Elis leaving the set of her upcoming film “Maria” based on the life of the Greek Soprano Maria Callas. Jolie was accompanied by her sons Maddox and Pax near Athens, Greece. Pictured: Angelina Jolie, Pax Jolie-Pitt BACKGRID USA 15 OCTOBER 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
I am up way too early and absolutely loving her eccentric tweed look, like she’s an Agatha Christie detective. I cannot imagine what it must be like to have been the ultimate IT girl, the defining beauty of an era, and then face catastrophic health issues that forever change your body. She is truly amazing for deciding to share her journey publicly to speak to all the women who feel isolated by similar experiences.
Okay that’s the film I didn’t know I needed, Jolie as a 1920’s lady detective solving crimes around Europe and looking amazing in tweed.
I’d watch that now.
Please give us 1920s detective Jolie!
omg this needs to happen!!
I’ve been dreaming of a revival of Laura Croft, but maybe I’ll pray for this instead.
Not that she needs a relationship to be happy, but I really hope she starts dating soon and is VERY happy! Much happier than she had ever been in any other relationship before she was hurt.
I suspect she has friends discretely keeping track of and vetting available and appropriate men for when she’s ready.
Some women who experience domestic abuse, concentrate on their children rather than finding a new relationship and I suspect that’s where Angelina is. right now.
When you think about how long it must have gone on, the little we even know about it, and how exhausting Brad Pitt’s entire persona has been since then, one can only imagine she feels blessed for every moment she’s free of that shackle and embrace the people and activities she loves.
As soon as her store opens, I will be there to purchase something.
You can’t keep good people down.
It’s already open in New York, and online sales will soon open.
I’m not sure if they are part of her collection or not but I LOVE the glasses she is wearing. I need to find those.
That’s a pic from a biopic she’s working on.
You can see the effects of the Cerebral Palsy on the right side of her face in the video interview. Her right eye looks like she’s winking, almost like a delayed reaction. I noticed it previously on some of the Eternals promotional events.
She’s such a lovely person and I wish inner peace for her always. Sounds like once she moves out of LA, life will be less stressful and she can relax more.
She had/has Bell’s palsy from the stress of Brad Pitt. I think you can only be born with cerebral palsy.
I think New York will be a much better base for her and her children.
It’s Bell’s Palsy. It’s a weird inflammation and swelling of a cranial nerve that controls facial muscles. Certain conditions like heavy stress or viral infections can cause an inflammation, but many cases of it have no clear cause.
George Clooney had it in high school, so he became a really funny person and a prankster to compensate, I think. It must be terrifying to wake up one day and have half of your face malfunctioning. It just goes to show how powerful stress can be for your health.
Also, this woman is a goddess. I’d like to see her with a woman for a partner now.
I want her to do whatever makes her feel happy and fulfilled and whole. And that may include a relationship and it may not.
I think it would be healthy to move on. She keeps bringing up the divorce.
The person who needs to move on is Brad hun. He is the one that seems to want to drag things out with his incessant financial abuse. Her mentioning a handful of times how hard it’s been to pick herself up from an abusive marriage and contentious divorce is her right.
As mentioned in prior posts here pertaining to women who can’t let things go/need to move on – it’s typically the interviewer bringing it up, not the subject.
As for how often someone chooses to bring up a part of their life especially something as life changing as divorce or abuse – that’s not a sign they haven’t moved on. As a survivor of childhood abuse, I am very open about it. That doesn’t mean I can’t let it go. It means I want to spread awareness. We as humans crave connection and being open is the best way to attain that. If my talking about my childhood helps someone I’ll keep bringing it up, and if you don’t like it then you can move on.
Of course you don’t know what it’s like to be a victim of violence.
When you suffer some type of violence, it’s as if the other person killed you and you need to stay alive. How to keep living when you’re still dead? Many victims cannot deal with the pain and hatred of having their lives stolen in this way.
I just wish Angelina and her children achieve peace and happiness again.
If I looked like Angelina Jolie I would be insufferable.
@Beenie
LOL, I know she is arguably the most beautiful woman, I swear! I have always loved her, back in her wild & crazy days – loved her in Gia, Girl Interrupted.
Same. Gia came out when I was 17; I immediately loved Angelina and she became someone I would watch in anything.
I’m so glad she found herself and a sense of purpose in all her wildness. The wildness was great, but it was also a sign of her suffering in a lot of ways.
Same AmyB! Angelina is one of the few celebs I still adore.
I saw that B&W profile pic for WSJ online a couple of days back and couldn’t get over just how beautiful she is. It’s ridiculous.
Angelina is insufferable.
I’ve been around a long time-and I remember when she was becoming a break out star-so I kind of side eye her comments about how she doesn’t like how now actors have to give out so much personal information: she totally overshared at the beginning! Hello, she and Billy Bob and their blood vials, her weird comments about her brother . . .
…while young.
I actually agree with her. She over shared things she wanted to share and the public clutched their pearls. That’s a very different situation from being told you HAVE to share personal details in order to have a career like many up and coming actors today.
Personally, I don’t mind sharing. When it becomes an obligation and I have less control over what I’m sharing it becomes a problem.
I agree, no one should be obligated to share, or live so publicly. I see actors now saying that your number of instagram followers impacts if you get hired for a role or not, that’s insane.
I think Angelina overshared too much early in her career, and even into her marriage with Brad and then the kids, but I think some of that was him, wanting to promote his family man image (ha) and she seems to have really reigned it in during the past few years.
She was NINETEEN when she hit big and in her early twenties when she married Billy Bob. What someone CHOOSES to share vs what people think they are OBLIGATED to share are two different things. She has course-corrected quite a bit from that time in her life and I think having actually experienced it she has firsthand knowledge of what it was like then vs now.
This. People forget she is actually a nepo baby but for what that is worth she was kind of shoved into the spotlight. As a coping mechanism she leaned in hard. Nineteen is very very young and I think if there’s one person in and of Hollywood who has grown it’s her. I didn’t used to like her but she is proof that positive change is possible.
Angelina grew up in HW, absent Father as a public figure.
She has traveled the world.
She is no naive woman. Good for her.
I think it’s one thing to have a realistic and balanced view of things, but it’s a bit denigrating to say that Hollywood is not significant or important when so many people who work in that space are responsible for supporting her and the success that she’s had.
Considering what her work with refugees and victims of war have made her privy to – I can absolutely see why she would feel this way. Because ultimately – none of that matters in the face of war, death, genocide, etc. She isn’t denigrating or being ungrateful – she’s having perspective. Something more people in Hollywood need.
Diminishing art and artists is something only a fool would do. The work creative people produce outlasts us all and is one of the major ways future generations learn and understand those that came before.
As for Angelina, her nonprofit volunteerism certainly helps, but to group her with the doctors who are on the front lines (for example) is insulting to their contributions. Audrey Hepburn, who fought Nazis as a child and then went on to live the kind of working life Angelina uses as a blueprint, was never so ungracious or frankly, delusional. At the very least Angelina buys her way into the spaces she wants to work in thanks to her Hollywood fame. She should not forget that.
And in case anyone wants to ask, eff Brad Pitt forever, this has nothing to do with him.
Where has she ever diminished art and artists? She talks about Hollywood as a place to grow up with fakeness all around.
Mert to post my comment below here.
It’s funny how neither one of you commented on the Alden Ehrenreich post where he dismissed Hollywood as being like high school.
She said Hollywood is not performance art, and the entertainment industry is not just Hollywood. People on here call out Hollywood all the time, saying it toxic and praise celebrities who raise their kids outside of it. Yet I never see either one of you calling those people out.
@teecee
Who compared her to doctors or people on the front line? No one ever said that she was the first ether.
She’s been hanging out and traveling with some British guy with dreads. He’s kinda famous and cute but I can’t remember his name. He was with her in Jamaica and just recently in Italy.
Akala?
Co-sign on Johnny Lee Miller. They would be AMAZING together now.
“ignores the tabloid version of Jolie and barely touches the divorce from Brad Pitt”
When you read the tabloid headlines and then read the article it’s almost an epiphany.Totally absurd!!
I think AJ is a great beauty, she belongs in the list of stunning Hollywood beauties.
Old school HW, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, young Liz Taylor, Ava Gardner.
AJ is certainly equal to these beauties + she has spent a lifetime in HW and the public eye.
Her life and career has been international news and gossip for decades.
I can easily believe she has seen the bright and dark side of Hollywood, often.
AJ has lived thru a lot, that we know of, and I feel certain she has survived thru things which are still her personal business.
Maybe AJ will find a deep love in her future. I am reminded of Audrey Hepburn who also did international charity work and had unhappiness in her personal life, Audrey spent many years living in Switzerland with her long time love Robert. They never married but were devoted to each other. We should all be so lucky.
This new Angelina is a pretty interesting one. Was never a huge fan but she’s growing on me. I have a business background and I like that she’s running a business and seems to be really in charge of it and (different from nonprofits and directing and producing, which is still in the field) risking her own money – that’s true capitalism. Also impressed because I think she’s trying to make it a truly sustainable business. (Is there such a thing?)
Comparisons are odious but I like how she hasn’t become Madonna (another public figure who has/had a very hypersexual image). Madonna (who is apparently dependent on opioids) is so sad to watch these days. Angelina seems to know how to care for herself (and her kids).