Angelina Jolie has opened up about winning an Academy Award and why she ‘gave’ the prize to her mom.
The Maria star is daughter to actors Marcheline Bertrand and Jon Voight. The pair married in 1971, but separated in 1976 after Voight’s infidelity came to light. They later divorced in 1980.
Jolie lived primarily with her mom growing up, and winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress was a particularly poignant moment for both her and her mother.
Jolie won the award for her role in psychological thriller Girl, Interrupted (1999), playing the role of diagnosed sociopath Lisa Rowe.
During Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2025, Jolie was asked about her experience being nominated – and then winning – the Academy Award.
Noting she was debating how much to ‘share’ with the audience, Jolie opened up about her parents and how her career paralleled with her mom’s own dreams.
She explained: “When I was little, my parents divorced. My mom was home with two little kids. My mom’s dream was to be an actor. I believe my mother’s mother’s dream was to be an actor, which is probably why she took her to the theater in Chicago all the time.
“And my mother used to tell me a story that when she was in her twenties – when she had me, she was very young – she was divorced to a very famous man […] and she was home with her babies in an apartment watching him win an Oscar with the other woman.”
Jolie opened up about her mom watching her dad win an Academy Award (LUCY NICHOLSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Indeed, Voight is reported as having had an affair with fellow actor Stacey Pickren.
Pickren starred alongside him in three movies including Coming Home, Lookin’ To Get Out, and Runaway Train, Voight went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Coming Home in 1978.
Jolie reflected on the affair and Voight’s win as ‘kind of just a part of [her] family history’, but explained the significance of her mom being ‘there’ for her and her brother, and that being ‘the choice she made’ stuck with her.
“And how she must have felt on that night always really stuck with me,” she added.
Jolie resolved: “So, to have that moment to get off that stage and call her and say, ‘It’s yours’ and I gave it to her, was like one of the best moments for me in my life.”
While they may have separated in 2016, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt remain at loggerheads.
The former couple have been locked into an ongoing legal battle over the sale of a French winery they purchased when they were together.
New papers were submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this month and they contained some bombshell claims.
A lot of it has detailed alleged abuse by Pitt, something the actor has categorically denied.
In recents weeks, we’ve seen Jolie accuse her former partner of ‘unrelenting efforts to control’.
And now, the actress has made headlines once more as she accuses Pitt of trying to ‘bleed her dry’.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in 2015. (Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
In newly filed court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Jolie claims: “It is extremely painful for Jolie to have to defend herself from Pitt’s lawsuit – itself another example of Pitt’s unrelenting efforts to control and financially drain her – especially because Pitt’s false allegations as to the reasons the Miraval deal cratered can only proven by doing exactly what Jolie never wanted to do: Provide to the trier of fact the reason the Miraval deal failed, which was Pitt’s demand for an NDA to cover up his history of physical and emotional abuse of Jolie and their family.”
A source familiar with the situation added: “Angie says Brad is bleeding her dry – but it looks like she wants to bleed him dry.
“Far from being out to ruin his ex, it looks like Brad has bent over backwards to support Angie and help her out financially in spite of her appearing to be so vindictive.”
The Daily Mail adds that Jolie’s relationship with Pitt has helped enrich her by close to a whopping $100 million.
The paper reports that this money has come through loans, child support and gifts.
The couple are now embroiled in a legal battle. (Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
And as the winery dispute continues, Jolie’s lawyers have since filed new documents claiming Pitt abused Jolie.
A copy of the motion was obtained by CNN which reports the documents claim: “While Pitt’s history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family’s September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles, this flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him.”
The papers didn’t reveal specifics on the alleged abuse, although they state Jolie will ‘prove through testimony, emails, photographs, and other evidence why Pitt was so concerned about his own misconduct that he blew up his own deal to purchase Jolie’s interest in Miraval because she refused to agree to his new, expansive NDA’.
Angelina Jolie was quick to shut down what she branded an ‘insane’ question during an interview to help promote her upcoming movie, Maria.
After spending a few years behind the camera rather than in front of it, actor-turned-director Jolie is now returning to the screen to take on the role of Maria Callas, one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century.
The movie is set to release on Netflix in the US on December 11, and in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on 10 January, with Jolie helping to promote the flick in a new interview with The Times in which she revealed the role was a ‘daunting’ one.
She explained: “Singing opera requires you to be as emotionally open as you possibly can be — it’s not like singing in the car. It’s cathartic. I’ve never pushed myself or opened myself up in that way, that was daunting.”
As women in the spotlight, there are parallels between Callas’ life and that of Jolie’s as she explained: “I’m a hard worker. And a deeply feeling person. Maria is vulnerable because she feels and isn’t sometimes able to protect herself from the loneliness or emotional pain. Because it’s part of her life and work to be extremely human and live that way.
“You live through your communication with the audience. For Maria and for me that has always been extremely important.”
However, the actor also pointed out the differences she has from the singer.
Jolie acknowledged similarities and differences with Callas (Netflix)
“Maria didn’t have a family, so her work was everything,” she said, adding: “My work is not everything. Being a parent is everything.”
Still, while Jolie might not consider her career to be the be-all and end-all, she has made enough of a mark on Hollywood to prompt the interviewer to ask what it might look like if Maria director Pablo Larraín created a biopic about Jolie.
There have been enough biopics about big stars that one about Jolie wouldn’t be out of the question, but the actor isn’t so keen.
She responded: “That gets the most insane question award.”
She’s said to have laughed as she quickly shut down the question, saying: “When you’re a public person and you’re playing her, you’re conscious of how you would hate for somebody to interpret your life or think they understand your life, so we tried to be thoughtful. Let’s hope there isn’t one about my life.”
Larraín also commented on how the creators wanted the movie to be an ‘act of respect’ to Callas, explaining: “She was a strong woman at a time when that wasn’t really tolerated… she was stoic and strong, she was betrayed but she always stood on her own two feet, trying to do her art until she couldn’t.”
As their messy divorces continues, another one of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s children appears to be distancing themselves from her famous dad.
Jolie and Pitt have been locked in a bitter legal battle following the breakdown of their marriage in 2016, and the most recent claims come regarding the sale of a French winery they purchased when they were together.
New papers submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court in April contained a lot of bombshell accusations of Pitt – something the actor has categorically denied.
And while all that is going on in the background, Pitt is seemingly losing contact with some of his children whom he shares with Jolie.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. (Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
Earlier this week, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt celebrated her 18th birthday, and did so by dropping the ‘Pitt’ from her name, according to TMZ.
The name change is yet to be legally granted, but the 18-year-old hopes she will be known simply as ‘Shiloh Jolie’ in the near future.
The report comes just days after another one of the former couple’s kids made a similar move.
15-year-old Vivienne helped her mom produce the new musical, The Outsiders. As per PEOPLE, the former couple’s daughter was listed as Vivienne Jolie in the Playbill, instead of Vivienne Jolie-Pitt.
It remains unclear at this time whether Vivienne has legally changed her name.
Funnily enough, Shiloh and Vivienne are not the first of Jolie and Pitt’s children to change their name.
The former couple’s eldest daughter Zahara introduced herself as ‘Zahara Marley Jolie’ in a video shared by Essence last November.
In recents weeks, Jolie has accused her former partner of ‘unrelenting efforts to control’, as well as accusing Pitt of trying to ‘bleed her dry’.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Shiloh has opted to change her name. (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
“Angie says Brad is bleeding her dry – but it looks like she wants to bleed him dry,” a source familiar with the situation added.
“Far from being out to ruin his ex, it looks like Brad has bent over backwards to support Angie and help her out financially in spite of her appearing to be so vindictive.”
However, the Daily Mail reported that Jolie’s relationship with Pitt has helped enrich her by close to $100 million. The paper also reported that this money has come through loans, child support and gifts.
Despite this messy divorce going on for a while now, an end does not exactly look in sight.
Heartbreaking footage from the 2009 Oscars shows celebrities’ reactions to the late Heath Ledger winning an award.
Ledger won Best Supporting Actor at the prestigious awards ceremony for his portrayal of famous DC comics baddie, the Joker.
He played the character in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight alongside the likes of Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
The Oscar marked his second Academy Award as he’d won Best Actor for 2005’s Brokeback Mountain, but his 2009 win was notably different as Ledger had died a year prior.
The then 28-year-old died of acute intoxication believed to have been caused by an accidental overdose of prescribed medication.
His untimely and unexpected passing shook the film industry to its very core – something that was visible in the moments that followed Alan Arkin’s announcement that Ledger had won his second Oscar.
The camera panned round to show the audience afterwards, where several Hollywood stars looked solemn knowing that Ledger wasn’t there to collected the well-deserved accolade for himself.
Notably The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan failed to crack a smile as the camera turned to him in what should have been a happy moment for all those behind the movie.
Anne Hathaway appeared emotional during Heath Ledger’s family speeches (Oscars)
Elsewhere the likes of Angelina Jolie and Ledger’s Brokeback Mountain co-star Anne Hathaway seemed to be tearing up.
Since he couldn’t be there to collect his Oscar, Ledger’s parents and sister received it on his behalf.
Ledger’s father Kim was the first to speak on stage.
“First of all, I have to say this is ever so humbling just being amongst such wonderful people and such a wonderful industry,” he began.
“Firstly, I’d like to thank the Academy for recognizing our son’s amazing work. Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan in particular for allowing Heath the creative license to develop and explore this crazy Joker character.
“To Steve Alexander, Heath’s mentor, special friend and agent for ten years; we love you, Steve.”
Heath Ledger died at the age of 28 in 2008 (Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)
He went on: “This award tonight would’ve humbly validated Heath’s quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here, his peers, within an industry he so loved. Thank you.”
Sally Bell, the late actor’s mom, continued: “Heath was such a compassionate and generous soul who added so much excitement and inspiration to our lives.
