Angelina Jolie, the Oscar-winning actress and mother of six, recently revealed that motherhood wasn’t something she initially considered or desired. In a candid interview with the Associated Press, Jolie shared that she never wanted to have a baby, be pregnant, or even babysit.
Her perspective on motherhood underwent a significant transformation during a visit to Cambodia in the early 2000s, where she was serving as a United Nations goodwill ambassador. While interacting with children at a Cambodian school, Jolie had a profound realization – she wanted to adopt a child from the country that had been so welcoming to her.
“It was suddenly very clear to me that my son was in the country, somewhere,” Jolie said.
In 2002, she adopted her first child, Maddox, from a Cambodian orphanage in Battambang. This life-changing decision marked the beginning of Jolie’s journey into motherhood. She later opened a foundation in Maddox’s name, focusing on supporting education and healthcare initiatives in rural areas of Cambodia.
Jolie’s connection to Cambodia began in 2001 when she came to the country to film “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.” The experience had a profound impact on her, prompting a reevaluation of history and life that she had not been exposed to before.
“When I first came to Cambodia, it changed me. It changed my perspective. I realized there was so much about history that I had not been taught in school, and so much about life that I needed to understand, and I was very humbled by it,” Jolie shared.
Now, 15 years later, Jolie returned to Cambodia as a director for “First They Killed My Father,” a biopic and historical drama depicting the atrocities under the Khmer Rouge. Her son Maddox, now 14, joined her on this visit, actively participating in her humanitarian efforts.
Jolie, along with her husband Brad Pitt, has six children, including adopted children Maddox, Zahara, and Pax, as well as biological children Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox. Despite her initial reservations about motherhood, Jolie expressed that she now feels aligned with her life and is where she believes she should be.