FREE4U: Angelina Jolie Hot Wallpapers Hot Actress Hd Wallpaper Free Download Pics Photos Images

Angelina Jolie Hot Wallpapers Biography

Source(Google.com.pk)

Date of Birth

4 June 1975, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Angelina Jolie Voight

Nickname

Angie

Ange

Height

5' 6½" (1.69 m)

Angelina Jolie is an Oscar-winning actress who has become popular by taking on the title role in the "Lara Croft" series of blockbuster movies. Off-screen, Jolie has become prominently involved in international charity projects, especially those involving refugees. She often appears on many "most beautiful women" lists, and she has a personal life that is avidly covered by the tabloid press. In her earliest years, Angelina began absorbing the acting craft from her parents - her father is the Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and her mother is Marcheline Bertrand, who had studied with Lee Strasberg. At age 11, Angelina began studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she was seen in several stage productions. She undertook some film studies at New York University and later joined the renowned Met Theatre Group in Los Angeles. At age 16, she took up a career in modeling and appeared in some music videos. Her good looks may derive from her ancestry, which is German and Slovak on her father's side, and French-Canadian, Dutch, German, and remote Huron, on her mother's side.

In the mid-1990s, Jolie appeared in various small films where she got good notices, including Hackers (1995) and Foxfire (1996). Her critical acclaim increased when she played strong roles in the made-for-TV movies True Women (1997) (TV), and in George Wallace (1997) (TV) which won her a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy nomination. Jolie's acclaim increased even further when she played the lead role in the HBO production Gia (1998) (TV). This was the true life story of supermodel Gia Carangi, a sensitive wild child who was both brazen and needy and who had a difficult time handling professional success and the deaths of people who were close to her. Carangi became involved with drugs and because of her needle-using habits she became, at the tender age of 26, one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS. Jolie's performance in Gia (1998) (TV) again garnered a Golden Globe Award and another Emmy nomination, and she additionally earned a SAG Award.

Angelina got a major break in 1999 when she won a leading role in the successful feature The Bone Collector (1999), starring alongside Denzel Washington. In that same year, Jolie gave a tour de force performance in Girl, Interrupted (1999) playing opposite Winona Ryder. The movie was a true story of women who spent time in a psychiatric hospital. Jolie's role was reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), the role which won Nicholson his first Oscar. Unlike "Cuckoo", "Girl" was a small film that received mixed reviews and barely made money at the box office. But when it came time to give out awards, Jolie won the triple crown -- "Girl" propelled her to win the Golden Globe Award, the SAG Award and the Academy Award for best leading actress in a supporting role.

With her new-found prominence, Jolie began to get in-depth attention from the press. Numerous aspects of her controversial personal life became news. At her wedding to her Hackers (1995) co-star Jonny Lee Miller, she had displayed her husband's name on the back of her shirt painted in her own blood. Jolie and Miller divorced, and in 2000, she married her Pushing Tin (1999) co-star Billy Bob Thornton. Jolie had become the fifth wife of a man twenty years her senior. During her marriage to Thornton, the spouses each wore a vial of the other's blood around their necks. That marriage came apart in 2002 and ended in divorce. In addition, Jolie was estranged from her famous father, Jon Voight.

In 2000, Jolie was asked to star in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001). At first, she expressed disinterest, but then decided that the required training for the athletic role was intriguing. The Croft character was drawn from a popular video game. Lara Croft was a female cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond. When the film was released, critics were unimpressed with the final product, but critical acclaim wasn't the point of the movie. The public paid $275 million for theater tickets to see a buffed up Jolie portray the adventuresome Lara Croft. Jolie's father Jon Voight appeared in "Croft", and during filming there was a brief rapprochement between father and daughter.

One of the Croft movie's filming locations was Cambodia. While there, Jolie witnessed the natural beauty, culture and poverty of that country. She considered this an eye opening experience, and so began the humanitarian chapter of her life. Jolie began visiting refugee camps around the world and came to be formally appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Some of her experiences were written and published in her popular book "Notes from My Travels" whose profits go to UNHCR.

Jolie has stated that she now plans to spend most of her time in humanitarian efforts, to be financed by her actress salary. She devotes one third of her income to savings, one third to living expenses and one third to charity. In 2002, Angelina adopted a Cambodian refugee boy named Maddox, and in 2005, adopted an Ethiopian refugee girl named Zahara. Jolie's dramatic feature film Beyond Borders (2003) parallels some of her real life humanitarian experiences although, despite the inclusion of a romance between two westerners, many of the movie's images were too depressingly realistic -- the film was not popular among critics or at the box office.

In 2004, Jolie began filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) with co-star Brad Pitt. The film became a major box office success. There were rumors that Pitt and Jolie had an affair while filming "Smith". Jolie insisted that because her mother had been hurt by adultery, she herself could never participate in an affair with a married man, therefore there had been no affair with Pitt at that time. Nonetheless, Pitt separated from his wife Jennifer Aniston in January 2005 and, in the months that followed, he was frequently seen in public with Jolie, apparently as a couple. Pitt's divorce was finalized later in 2005.

Jolie and Pitt announced in early 2006 that they would have a child together, and Jolie gave birth to daughter Shiloh that May. They also adopted a three-year-old Vietnamese boy named Pax. The couple continues to pursue movie and humanitarian projects.

Spouse

Billy Bob Thornton (5 May 2000 - 27 May 2003) (divorced)

Jonny Lee Miller (28 March 1996 - 3 February 1999) (divorced)

Trivia

Niece of Chip Taylor.

One of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. [2000]

She is extremely close to and protective of her older brother, James Haven. He often accompanies her to awards shows, and she used his name, or at least his memory, as inspiration in the "Where's Jamie?!" scene in Girl, Interrupted (1999).

Has the letter "H" tattooed on the inside of her left wrist, which is a reference to two people she is close to who have this letter in their names: her brother, James Haven, and Timothy Hutton. She got the tattoo when she was dating Timothy but since their break-up she now says it's only for James.

Has a tattoo of the Tennessee Williams quote, "A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages." on her left forearm.

Was married to Jonny Lee Miller in a black leather pants and a white shirt. On the white shirt she painted her husband's name in her own blood (across the back).

Tattoos include the Japanese sign for death, two pointy black American Indian symbols, a dragon, and a large black cross.

Daughter of Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand.

Collects knives and has an interest in mortuary science.

Angelina and her brother, to whom she is very close, publicly spoke out to deny false rumors that the two were having an incestuous love affair. [2000]

Started modelling at age 14 and had a childhood dream of becoming a funeral director.

Named the world's sexiest woman in Swedish magazine Café.

"Jolie" means "pretty" in French.

Goddaughter of actress Jacqueline Bisset.

Has the Latin phrase "Quod me nutrit me destruit" ("What nourishes me also destroys me") tattooed across her stomach.

Appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland after her visits to Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Pakistan. [27 August 2001]

Born at 9:09 AM PDT

"Introducing Angelina Jolie" in opening credits of Love Is All There Is (1996) suggests delayed release as Jolie already had at least two major screen roles by 1996.

On her father's side, she is of Slovak and German descent. On her mother's side, she has French-Canadian, Dutch, German, and remote Huron, ancestry. Her Huron ancestor was her eight times great-grandmother, Catherine Anenontha, who was born in 1649.

Ranked #87 in Premiere's 2002 annual "Power 100" list.

In role as goodwill ambassador, visited Tham Hin refugee camp in Thailand, May 2002, to check on conditions of 9,000 refugees from bordering Myanmar.

Announced in late 2002 that she was "in talks" to portray the late porn star Linda Lovelace.

Voted the 3rd Sexiest Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine in September 2002.

She is the woman most American males would like to date on New Year's Eve, according to a survey by movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc. Results of the survey showed her in the top spot with 35 percent of respondents saying she would be their number one pick for a hypothetical New Year's Eve candle-lit dinner. Rival star Catherine Zeta-Jones gained second spot in the online survey conducted by Blockbuster November 11-24, 2003. The survey had 31,969 responses.

Was named "The sexiest woman alive" by the Swedish evening newspaper "Aftonbladet." [2003]

Voted #9 "Sexiest Woman" in FHM UK's top 100 sexiest of 2004.

One of her favorite television series is "King of the Hill" (1997). She also enjoys the Game Show Network and Animal Planet.

She was voted #2 on VH1's "100 Hottest Hotties."

Graduated from Beverly Hills High School at age 16, the same school as Lenny Kravitz. She also went to school with Michael Klesic and Bahar Soomekh.

Ranked #6 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World." [2002]

Voted #1 star most men would like to kiss under the mistletoe in a poll for Sky Movies.

Used to own several pet reptiles, including two snakes. Therefore she had no problem shooting the snake scene in Alexander (2004).

Went to elementary school at William O. Schaefer School in Tappan, New York. She graduated from El Rodeo elementary school in 1989.

Her father starred with her godmother Jacqueline Bisset in End of the Game (1975), which was directed by her godfather Maximilian Schell.

Voted Hollywood's Sexiest Single Mother, in a poll for website Date.com.

Consulted with real-life FBI profiler Robert K. Ressler for her role in Taking Lives (2004).

In 2003, she was the first recipient of the Citizen of the World Award from the UN's Correspondents' Association for her work as a goodwill ambassador with the UNHCR.

She ranked #2 in 2000 on Mr. Blackwell (aka Richard Selzer)'s Worst Dressed List.

Named Esquire Magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive in 2004.

Named Most Beautiful Woman in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People 2005 issue. More than 500,000 readers were polled.

In August 2005, she was made an official citizen of Cambodia by the King for her ongoing efforts to help the environment there.

Was nominated for Worst Actress at the Razzie Awards for four straight years from 2002 to 2005, but each time was beaten by another of her fellow nominees.

Performed her own stunts in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and received cuts from the chandelier scene as a result. She also set fire to her silk pajamas on the chandelier while she was doing her "bungee jumps" in the house. She was taken to a hospital with minor burns but resumed filming the next day.

Named #7 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 Women of 2005 list.

Ranked #1 in E! Television's 2006 101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies.

Gave her Oscar Statuette, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critic Choice Award to her mother. She felt she didn't need to hang on to awards.

Her godfather Maximilian Schell always gave her a doll as a birthday present, from her first to sixteenth. Sometimes it was a modern doll, made of plastic, sometimes it was an old and precious one, made of wood or porcelain.

Gave her mother the nickname "Great Lady".

One of the first actresses to win 3 consecutive Golden Globes in 3 different categories: "Best Supporting Actress in a Mini Series": George Wallace (1997) (TV), "Best Actress in a TV Movie or Mini Series": Gia (1998) (TV), "Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture": Girl, Interrupted (1999). Coincidentally, all her roles were based on real people.

Ranked and Voted #3 by AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2006

Topped People magazine`s "100 most beautiful people" list in 2006 (28 April 2006).

Named #1 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005)

Has tattoos of the coordinates representing the birth countries of each of her kids (she even has the coordinates of France tattooed on her arm twice, one each for Knox and Viv), which cover up the Billy Bob Thornton tattoo (June 2006).

Holds a Private Pilot Certificate with the Airplane, Single Engine, Land rating. This means that she is qualified to fly any single-engined aircraft based on land (i.e., no seaplanes) under visual flight rules only (i.e., no instrument qualifications yet so she cannot fly in conditions requiring instruments).

Has a fondness for Liverpool Football Club because her son Maddox "only wants to play for Liverpool".

She donated many items to Rocky Stone to be given to less fortunate kids as part of the Toy Mountain Campaign.

Was the cover girl for the much anticipated issue of Forbes Magazine, in which appeared the infamous Celebrity 100 list. [June 2006]

Named #4 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 Women of 2006 list.

Became the third actress to join the coveted $20 Million Club (after Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz), when she signed to do Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) for that amount.

Fan of author Ayn Rand.

Named #2 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006).

Is left-handed and therefore had to have guns specially made so that she could reload them easily for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001).

Her mother Marcheline Bertrand died from ovarian cancer in Los Angeles after a 7 1/2 year battle (27 January 2007).

Chosen the greatest sex symbol of all time in the British television show "The 100 Greatest Sex Symbols" (February 2007).

Was on the "Time 100", a list of the world's 100 most influential people in the world by "Time" magazine, in 2006.

Ranked #12 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 Women of 2007 list.

Is an alumna of the Lee Strasberg Institute as are Frank Miranda, Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Sally Field.

2007 - Ranked #33 on EW's The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.

In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated her earnings for the year at $20 million.

In 2007, she moved to New Orleans with Brad Pitt and their four children.

In 2006, after the birth of her daughter Shiloh, she sold the first pictures of her newborn for $4,100,000. She later donated the profits to charity.

Ranked #3 in the 2008 Forbes The Celebrity 100 list.

The first-ever male to hold Jolie in his arms was Charley Boorman. He'd earlier served as a pageboy at the wedding of Jolie's parents Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand during the Deliverance (1972) shoot, and later happened to be present during the delivery of Jolie. Boorman was just 8-years-old and Jolie was but an infant. Today (2008) Boorman quips that his epitaph should read: "I was the first man to get his hands on Angelina Jolie".

Was considered for the role of Kelly Kapowski on "Saved by the Bell" (1989).

Since becoming a Goodwill Ambassador in 2001, she has visited over 20 countries.

In an interview about her movie Changeling (2008), Angie revealed that although her mom's name was Marcheline, everyone called her "Marshmallow", because she was such a softie.

Went to Beverly Hills High School with writer/actor Quincy Rose, son of Mickey Rose, and Antonia Bennett, daughter of Tony Bennett.

Friends with Gwen Stefani.

In July 2009, she was voted in first place in a poll to find the 100 Greatest Sex Symbols for Britain's Channel 4. Elvis Presley was runner-up.

Viktoriya Bonya named her daughter after her.

When Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton first married, the couple moved into the Beverly Hills home formerly owned by Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash. [2000]

Was in consideration for the role of Natasha Rushman/Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (2010) after Emily Blunt dropped out of the project, but Scarlett Johansson was cast instead.

Replaced Charlize Theron as Elise in The Tourist (2010) shortly before filming began.

Was originally cast as Dagny Taggart in Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011) before being replaced by Charlize Theron, who in turn was replaced by Taylor Schilling.

Was 6 months pregnant with her daughter Shiloh when she completed filming The Good Shepherd (2006).

Returned to work 4 months after giving birth to her daughter Shiloh in order to begin filming A Mighty Heart (2007).

In March 1999, it was reported by People magazine that she would star as one of the three angels in Charlie's Angels (2000). However, she left the project shortly before production began, stating in an interview that she chose not to be in the film.

Was in consideration for the role of Ryan in Gravity (2013) but Sandra Bullock was cast instead.

Was born Angelina Jolie Voight, however in 2002 she dropped her surname "Voight" and began using her middle name "Jolie.".

Ranked #90 in the 2011 FHM list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World". Previously she ranked #70 in 2010, #14 in 2009, #9 in 2008, #8 in 2007, #4 in 2006, #3 in 2005, #9 in 2004, #32 in 2003, #32 in 2002, #61 in 2001, and #68 in 2000.

Was named after costumer designer Angela Alexander who designed costumes for the film The All-American Boy (1973) that her father Jon Voight starred in. Jon and Angela became good friends on the set, and he became fascinated when she told him her original Greek name was "Angeliki", which in Greek mean's "Angelic Messenger of God". During the film's shoot, Jon Voight came to Angela on the set and told her that one day if he and his wife (then actress Marcheline Bertrand) ever had a daughter he was going to name her "Angelica". They had just had a son. Two years later, Jon Voight and Marcheline gave birth to Jolie. Although he originally named her Angelica, a year later after his divorce with Marcheline, she began calling her "Angelina.".

Was 2 months pregnant with twins Knox and Vivienne when she completed filming Changeling (2008).

Returned to work 8 months after giving birth to twins Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon in order to begin filming Salt (2010).

Ranked #10 in Men's Health 100 Hottest Women of All Time (2011).

Three older of six children of Angelina and her boyfriend Brad Pitt were adopted, two sons and a daughter - Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt (born on August 5, 2001, adopted by Angelina on March 10, 2002; by Brad - in early of 2006), Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt (born on November 29, 2003, adopted by Angelina on March 15, 2007; Brad - on February 21, 2008) and Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt (born on January 8, 2005, adopted by Angelina on July 6, 2005; by Brad - in early of 2006).

Delivered all her biological children via scheduled Caesarean sections.

Was a guest writer for The Economist's special edition The World in 2008. In an article entitled A Year For Accountability, she stated that, "accountability is perhaps the only force powerful enough to break the cycle of violence and retribution that marks so many conflicts... Common sense tells us that when risks are weighed, decisions are made differently. When crimes against humanity are punished consistently and severely, the killers' calculus will change."

Has been in a relationship with Brad Pitt since May 2005 and they are engaged since April 2012. They have 6 children together.

3 older of her 6 children with her now fiancé Brad Pitt were adopted, two sons and a daughter - Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt (born on August 5, 2001, adopted on March 10, 2002 by Angelina and in early of 2006 by Brad), Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt (born on November 29, 2003, adopted on March 15, 2007 by Angelina and on February 21, 2008 by Brad) and Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt (born on January 8, 2005, adopted on July 6, 2005 by Angelina and in early of 2006 by Brad).

Gave birth to her 4th child at age 30, a daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt on May 27, 2006. Child's father is her now fiancé, Brad Pitt.

Gave birth to twins (her 5th and 6th child) at age 33, a son Knox Léon Jolie-Pitt & a daughter Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt on July 12, 2008. Children's father is her now fiancé, Brad Pitt.

Jolie wrote an Op/Ed newspaper article titled "My Medical Choice" that was published on May 14, 2013, in The New York Times in which she revealed that she had undergone a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction because she is a carrier of a "faulty" gene, BRCA1. Her doctors advised her that that gene, along with her family history of breast cancer (including her mother's death at age 56) made it much more likely that she would have developed breast cancer (the medical estimate was that she had an 87% risk of breast cancer), so she elected to have the surgery as a preventative measure.

Her maternal aunt, Debbie Martin, died from breast cancer at the age of 61. [May 26, 2013]

Personal Quotes

Therapy? I don't need that. The roles that I choose are my therapy.

Because I am a bad girl, people always automatically think that I am a bad girl. Or that I carry a dark secret with me or that I'm obsessed with death. The truth is that I am probably the least morbid person one can meet. If I think more about death than some other people, it is probably because I love life more than they do.

You're young, you're drunk, you're in bed, you have knives; shit happens.

And my dad, you're a great actor but you're a better father.

[on if she ever caught her husband Billy Bob Thornton cheating] I've told Billy if I ever caught him cheating, I wouldn't kill him because I love his children and they need a dad. But I would beat him up. I know where all of his sports injuries are. And I'd beat her, too!

I'll make it real simple, I'm a 36-C. In the game, she's a double-D. In the movie [Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)] she's a D. We split the difference . . . [Lara] is much more athletic, and she has smaller breasts, but she's still Lara Croft, so there.

I seem to be getting a lot of things pushed my way that are strong women. It's like people see Hackers (1995) and they send me offers to play tough women with guns, the kind who wear no bra and a little tank top. I'd like to play strong women who are also very feminine.

I'd like to believe that the people that have supported me in my work or identified with me in films, the people that feel they know me, they do and they don't have misconceptions - they understand. I believe that.

[on her split from husband Billy Bob Thornton] I'm angry. I'm sad. It's a very difficult and sad time. It was a real deep connection, a deep marriage, so it's not that simple to say this or that one thing caused the problems. It's clear to me that our priorities shifted overnight. He's focused on his music and career. I'm focused on my baby. It comes down to what's important to you.

[People Magazine 8 July 1996] There's something about death that is comforting. The thought that you could die tomorrow frees you to appreciate life now.

[on playing Olympias in Alexander (2004)] I felt that if I lived at that time, with the dangers she had and the threats she had and the lack of power she had as a woman, I would not have been that different from her. And I thought I also just saw her as a mother who really would push her son at a time that if he didn't get the throne, he didn't acquire a certain kind of strength and ability and greatness, he would probably just die or be killed or be exiled. So out of concern, out of love for your own, just to come from this place that seems very much like the horrible mafia father, but in fact it was for his own survival that she was focused on, which made it very easy for me to focus on thinking of my own son and what he had to do to protect himself from bad things that could hurt him.

If you don't get out of the box you've been raised in, you won't understand how much bigger the world is.

[on the superficiality of the industry] We are setting an example of what we think is beautiful and you really want to put that much make up on me?

You might never find out that you are useful for all the right reasons - and not all those stupid things that people tell you you're useful for.

[(CNN International Edition 29th January, 2005)] My role as goodwill ambassador has made my work as a film star relatively dull. I can't find anything that interests me enough to go back to work. I'm simply not excited about anything. I'm not excited about going to a film set.

[on what she does with the money she makes each year] Save one-third, live on one-third and give away one-third.

If I make a fool of myself, who cares? I'm not frightened by anyone's perception of me.

If I think more about death than some other people, it is probably because I love life more than they do.

Love one person, take care of them until you die. You know, raise kids. Have a good life. Be a good friend. And try to be completely who you are. And figure out what you personally love. And like go after it with everything you've got no matter how much it takes.

[Regarding the possibility of marriage with her current beau and father of her child, Brad Pitt] We have both been married before so it's not marriage that necessarily kept some people together.

[2002] I'm drawn to kids that are already born. I think some people are meant to do certain things, and I believe I'm meant to find my children in the world somewhere and not necessarily have them genetically.

[interview with Ann Curry] I'm in a strange, I suppose, place in my life. I think that happens when you lose a parent, where you drop into a different kind of serious. And yet, at the same time, you want to laugh and enjoy as much as possible every day. I'm hanging on to my family really tight at this moment, and, because of that, trying to be as good a woman as I can be in my life. Dammit, you got me crying.

It's alright. It's a part of life . . . I lost my mom. It's a natural thing for a child to lose a parent. I lost my mom too young, but it happened. And I'm happy she's out of pain, because I love her and she's my friend.

Not many people know this about me but I'm a natural blonde. My hair went from light blonde naturally to a darker kind of blonde. My mother dyed my hair dark when I was a child as I loved the look then. So I'm basically a natural blonde.

[on making action movies] I think there's always going to be that side of me. [Harrison Ford] is doing it, and he's doing it well, (so) it looks like I've got some more time.

To be intimate with a married man, when my own father cheated on my mother, is not something I could forgive. I could not look at myself in the morning, if I did that.

My natural color is dark blonde. But when I was four or five, my mother dyed my hair dark brown, and she decided to keep it that way. And I stuck with that.

[on Cambodia and her humanitarian work] - One of the first camps I went to had 400,000 people. It was a sea of human misery. In Sierra Leone, I saw tens of thousands with their arms and legs cut off [by rebels], orphaned children. I felt completely overwhelmed. I cried constantly. I felt guilty for everything that I had. Then I realized I wasn't doing these people any favors by crying. I kept getting angry at the injustices until I couldn't think straight. I took a deep breath and focused on how I could help. I discovered that I was useful as a person. When I met suffering people, it put my life into perspective. It slammed me into a bigger picture of the world.

I was actually quite a cool kid. I was not tough. I was certainly independent and bold. I was never teased. I never had any trouble from anybody. ... I was never satisfied. I had trouble sleeping. I didn't really fit. I always feel that I'm searching for something deeper, something more... You want to meet other people that challenge you with ideas or with power or with passion. I wanted to live very fully. I wanted to live many lives and explore many things.

[on Brad Pitt] (He made me) a better person. I've learned so much from him, as you do when you come together with another person. You both make each other better. You both learn about the best of each other, and recognize the things where you're failing, or where you need to step up. When it's a great partnership, you really are patient with each other.

I grew up in front of everybody, really. The big years of exploration. There was a certain madness I was going through. I learned a lot about myself. People tend to sum up times in your life and simplify. I would say there's a way of being bold when you're young that seems very brave... What's perceived as tough is a very funny thing. I think to be a parent is one of the scariest, boldest things to do, as opposed to, um, getting a tattoo... Much more than jumping into a pool when you're 20.

There's certainly a side of me that isn't completely... sane. Or completely 'even' all the time. We all have our dark sides.

When I first read the script for Changeling (2008), I couldn't put it down but then I said 'no' immediately. I didn't want to go into this project because it was too upsetting. But then afterwards I couldn't stop talking about her. I found myself sitting with people wanting them to know about this extraordinary woman and you wouldn't believe what happened to her, and what these people did to her in this time in our history. In the end, it became a story about democracy in action, about justice...even suffering a great loss and fighting through it and making a change for the future for other people, and questioning the government and the police. So, I found it very inspiring and really wanted people to know about her and felt like it was an extra piece of justice for her.

[on her friendship with Gwen Stefani and their children spending time together] All of the kids are very close in age. They've attended each other's birthday parties and gotten together several times at each other's homes. Somehow Gwen and I keep ending up pregnant at the exact same time.

It was nice for me to play with other girls; I don't really have girlfriends in movies, if you've noticed. Well, I have a few girlfriends, I just... I stay at home a lot. I'm just not very social. I don't do a lot with them, and I'm very homebound. I'll talk to my family, I talk to Brad... But I don't know, I don't have a lot of friends I talk to. He is really the only person I talk to.

[2012] I think I'm going to have to give up the acting as the kids hit the teenage years, anyway, too much to manage at home. I have enjoyed being an actress. I am so grateful to the job and I have had great experiences and I have even be able to tell stories and be a part of stories that mattered and I have done things for fun, but... I will do some films and I am so fortunate to have the job, it's a really lucky profession to be a part of and I enjoy it. But if it went away tomorrow I would be very happy to be home with the children. I wake up in the morning as a mum and I turn on the news like everybody else and I see what's happening and I want to be part of the world in a positive way.