Angelina Jolie politely declined to answer a question about her ongoing divorce from Brad Pitt in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Speaking to reporter Rebecca Keegan at her $25 million home in Los Feliz, the 49-year-old Oscar winner drew “firm boundaries” around a number of topics, including her split from Pitt and the recent near-fatal electric bike accident of her 20-year-old son Pax.
The Maleficent star explained to the publication that years ago in Hollywood “there could be a complicated private process and the work would speak for itself.”
“Now the relationship with the public is different. I’m trying to get used to what I have to share,” she admitted after taking a long break from the industry.
When Keegan asked if it would be okay to “ask what the status of” her divorce is, the actress replied, “No.”
Angelina Jolie politely declined to answer a question about her ongoing divorce from Brad Pitt in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter; seen August 29, 2024
She later spoke about having to remain in California until she and Pitt’s six children turn 18.
The former couple share Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, and Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16.
“I grew up in this city (Los Angeles). I’m here because I have to be here after a divorce, but as soon as they’re 18 I can leave,” she told THR.
The mother of six continued: “When you have a large family, you want them to have privacy, peace and security. I have a home now to raise my children, but sometimes this place can be… that humanity that I found on the other side of the world is not the one I grew up with here.”
After her two youngest children become adults, Jolie says she plans to spend “a lot of time in Cambodia” and visit her “family wherever they are in the world.”
When asked who her close friends are and who she would call at 3 a.m., the artist said she “doesn’t really have those kinds of relationships.”
“Maybe it’s losing your father at a young age. Maybe it’s working. Maybe it’s being someone who’s been betrayed a lot. I don’t have a lot of those warm, close relationships that I lean on,” she said. “But I have a few, and a few are enough.”
While speaking to reporter Rebecca Keegan at her $25 million home in Los Feliz, the Oscar winner, 49, drew “firm boundaries” around a number of topics, including her split from Pitt and her 20-year-old son Pax’s recent near-fatal electric bike accident (seen in 2015).
Jolie mentioned Loung Ung as one of her “closest friends” and her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who passed away in 2007.
“My mother was very dear to me. I lost her. Over the years, some friends were not there for my family in times of need. I have a couple of people I trust.”
In 2016, Jolie began taking on less film work and only accepted jobs that did not require long shoots as she focused on “healing” and the end of her marriage.
While reflecting on why she waited “so long” since she last acted or directed, the star explained that she “needed to be home more” with her children.
“They’re a little older and they’re becoming more independent. They need me less and can be away for different periods of time. And they’re old enough to work with me. It’s a new stage in our lives. I’m really excited for them to develop more every day,” she said about what made her feel ready to return to work.
The former couple share Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, and Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16; photographed in 2021.
As for whether she has any writing rituals, Jolie noted that she usually writes “when everyone is asleep” so she can concentrate.
Although she has a tendency to keep her personal life out of the spotlight, Jolie said that “one of the nicest things, maybe the only nice thing, about being a public person” is connecting with “other people.”
“I realized when I got into this business, doing things like Gia or Girl, Interrupted, and I expressed a lot of my madness and my pain. When people connected with that, I felt less alone. So if someone talked to me about going through breast cancer or losing their father, then I felt more connected to another human being,” the actress explained.
Jolie added: “Walking into a room full of people you don’t know and having a lot in common very quickly because you’ve somehow been in their house on TV or made their kids laugh or they know something personal, that’s really nice.”
Jolie and Pitt have been discussing the details of their divorce for the past eight years.
Jolie and Pitt have been discussing the details of their divorce for the past eight years.
On Friday, a source close to Pitt told People that it is “quite shocking” that the couple still “cannot find a solution and finalize the divorce.”
“One of the main reasons for their unhappiness before Angelina filed for divorce was their frequent clashes over raising their children,” the source said.
The source noted that the stars “always had different approaches to life in general,” as she grew up in Hollywood as the daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand and he had a normal childhood in Springfield, Missouri.
“This goes for the kids, too,” the source explained. “Brad wanted a structured life for them with a set curriculum. Angie wanted everyone to find themselves and discover what excited them and sparked their passion.”
In the end, Jolie’s parenting approach “won out” and “the kids are free-spirited, super smart and artistic.”
“Brad is very proud,” the source said.
