Angelina Jolie opened up about the joys of motherhood, and how her six kids have “changed” her life, in her interview with Vogue that was published September 27.
“I was 26 when I became a mother,” said the Oscar winner, who has three daughters and three sons with her ex-husband Brad Pitt, 59. Angelina adopted her oldest child, 22-year-old Maddox, on her own in 2002.
“My entire life changed,” Angelina added about becoming a mom. “Having children saved me—and taught me to be in this world differently.”
Angelina told Vogue that her role as a mother has helped her get through tough times in her life. The Maleficent star might be alluding to her and Brad’s legal battles over their French vineyard and the custody of their kids.
“I think, recently, I would’ve gone under in a much darker way had I not wanted to live for them,” she said in the interview. “They’re better than me, because you want your children to be. Of course I’m the mother, and hopefully that safe place for them and that stability. But I’m also the one that they laugh at—and I see them taking over so many different aspects of our family.”
Angelina is a proud mom to Maddox, Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Vivienne and Knox, both 15. Angelina and Brad split in September 2016, but they’re still battling in court over the custody of their children that are minors. Angelina is seen out and about with her kids often in all different cities around the world. When the actress was in Italy last summer filming her movie Without Blood, Pax and Maddox served as assistant-directors on their mom’s project, and she raved about how great of a job they did.
“We work well together,” she told People in August 2022. “When a film crew is at its best, it feels like a big family, so it felt natural,” she added.
It’s rare that Angelina offers a glimpse into her life as a mother, like she did in the new Vogue interview. One of the last times she talked about her job as a mom was with British Vogue in 2021. “I was never very good at sitting still,” she said. “Even though I wanted to have many children and be a mom, I always imagined it kind of like Jane Goodall. Traveling in the middle of the jungle somewhere.”