Angelina Jolie is happy and rediscovering herself. In a rare interview, the actress, 44, explained that while she’s soft and vulnerable, she’s realized that she has more fight in her than she ever knew before. “When I do take time for myself, I rediscover that softness I speak of… I also realize I have more fight and resilience in me than I knew,” Angelina explained in an interview with HELLO! published on September 9. “But at my core I’m soft and vulnerable – it’s not my dream just to be strong. I want to be allowed to be soft and I don’t want to be harmed or feel unsupported when I am,” she said.
The mother-of-six went on to reveal that her teenage kids — Maddox, 18, Pax, 15, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 13, and twins, Vivienne and Knox, 11 — treat her “like a lady,” especially on Mother’s Day, a special holiday where the kids “make me breakfast and pick me flowers.” Angelina recently sent her eldest son Maddox off to college in South Korea, which gave her a whole new perspective on parenting.
“When your children are little you feel more ‘mommy’. When they are teenagers you start to remember yourself as a teenager,” she said. “You see them going to punk clubs and you wonder why you can’t go. I’m in this fun moment where I’m rediscovering myself.”
As for what values Angelina teaches her six kids, she simply hopes to instill kindness in each of them. “Kindness – to others and themselves. It’s important to be humble – know the freedoms you have and what you’ve been blessed with and make sure you help others,” Angelina said, explaining, “And always remember your place – we’re all human and very flawed. We’re tiny pieces in a much bigger world.”
The actress continued: “As they grow up, I find my children are strong individuals but still open-minded. I try to lead by example and be kind and gracious, as my mother was – and loving and tolerant. But when there’s a fight that needs to be had, get in there. We need to prepare the next generation because there’s so much happening in the world – they’re up against it. I’m working on a program for children with the BBC. We’re counting on our children so we must give them the right knowledge and support.”