Angelina Jolie has transformed herself from troubled teen star into

Angelina Jolie has transformed herself from troubled teen star
into the queen of hearts with her tireless humanitarian campaigning.
From the crisis in Cambodia to the current global refugee situation,
the 41-year-old star is always on the frontlines of change.
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Global Compact International Yearbook 2016
the
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n modern society, fame and philanthropy appear to go
hand in hand – and upholding the appearance of “giving something back” is a vital part of modern celebrity.
But for actress Angelina Jolie, her dedication and relentless
campaigning on behalf of others sometimes tip the scales in
the other direction: humanitarian first, Hollywood star second.
Once a troubled starlet, Jolie has seemingly dealt with her own
demons by focusing her energy on trying to limit the suffering of others. Having grown up in Los Angeles, she struggled
with depression, drug abuse, and self-harming throughout her
youth. Her father, actor Jon Voight, left her mother, actress
Marcheline Bertrand, when Jolie was barely one. This experience – coupled with the feeling that her own family was not
as wealthy as those of her peers at Beverly Hills High School –
left her feeling disenfranchised.
In spite of her early success as an actor, Jolie remained deeply
troubled, and she says her humanitarian work has helped
heal some of her deeper wounds. “It’s a big difference, but
all the pain I went through when I was younger was my way
Global Compact International Yearbook 2016
of trying to get to where I am now,” she confesses. “I wasn’t
happy with how things were for me because I thought I wasn’t
accomplishing enough, and all the characters I played in my
films were leading much more interesting lives than I was.”
In 2001, while filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in Cambodia,
Jolie found herself moved by the plight of those living in the
war-torn country. On her return home, she contacted the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
and began her enduring relationship with the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
becoming an official ambassador the same year.
“The basic thing was that I was searching for some greater
purpose and goal in life, and when I started working with
UNESCO and doing humanitarian work, I began feeling that
I could point to something concrete that I was doing to help
people who had very little hope,” Jolie explains.
Celebrity endorsement, or even taking on a role as an ambassador, does not necessarily mean a star will “get their hands
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“
For over a decade
I have been visiting
refugee camps and
orphanages and other
places working with
the United Nations
and the UNHCR.
”
dirty” per se. But for Jolie, an important part of her work has
always been to get out into the world and see the heartache
and poverty for herself – to comfort the mother who lost a
child in conflict and hear firsthand the plight of a teenage
soldier forced into combat from a young age.
Since 2001 she has gone on more than 40 field missions in over
30 countries, from Pakistan to Sierra Leone. She has always
covered her own costs and stayed in the basic accommodations provided for fellow aid workers – a far cry from the
glamorous world of Hollywood. This altruism shines a light
on those celebrities for whom column inches are everything.
“There are many times when there are no media present, and
many times in the past when I was working on the ground
there was no immediate attention,” Jolie says. “For over a
decade I have been visiting refugee camps and orphanages
and other places working with the United Nations and the
UNHCR. So I know what I’ve been able to contribute personally and in terms of creating greater public awareness of the
issues at stake and the actual conditions of the people and
children in various regions.”
Naturally, the presence of such a high-profile personality can
cause a furor that negates the good work they are trying to
do. But the 41-year-old star is acutely aware of this dilemma.
“There is a fine line to walk, but I’m very conscious of that line.
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Everywhere I go I try to balance the needs of field officers who
are doing the real work and also serving the general interest
of creating awareness, which can influence political decisions
and public support, which are vital,” Jolie says. “I believe that
after all this time, though, the public knows how serious and
committed I am to the work I’m doing in these regions.”
Though her mission has very much been global, Cambodia
in particular has maintained a strong place in Jolie’s heart.
In 2002, while married to actor Billy Bob Thornton, Jolie
adopted her first child, seven-month-old Maddox Chivan, from
an orphanage in Battambang, Cambodia. She later bought a
property in the province in an attempt to maintain her son’s
connection to his heritage. Unfortunately, the land was adjacent
to Samlout National Park in the Cardamom Mountains and
plagued by poachers who threatened the endangered species
there. Jolie’s response was to buy the entire park and turn
it into a wildlife reserve – named the Maddox Jolie Project.
Along with three biological children, Jolie adopted her daughter
Zahara from Ethiopia and son Pax Thien from Ho Chi Minh
City in Vietnam. The path was by no means an easy one,
though, as in each case, controversy surrounded the adoption
process. In the case of Maddox, it was purely bureaucratic
due to the United States temporarily banning adoptions from
Cambodia amidst child trafficking allegations, but the ”trend”
of celebrities adopting children from developing countries
often raises the debate on how ethical the process is, with
mothers coming forward afterwards – as was the case with
Zahara, saying it was not her decision to put the child up for
adoption in the first place.
Regardless, one look at Jolie and husband Brad Pitt with their
enormous and diverse brood proves it is possible to break down
the conventions of traditional family and raise children who
are happy, stable, and, above all, deeply loved.
“When it comes to my children, I can see how important it is to
be there for them and teach them things and to be with Brad and
create this sense of a family unit,” Jolie says. “It’s also fascinating how the children react to Brad and I differently, and how
each of us has a different connection to each of our children.”
Global Compact International Yearbook 2016
when I was about nine,” recalls Jolie, who lost her mother to
cancer. “She was very involved in Native American issues – she
was part Iroquois Indian and French Canadian. And in the end,
we started a foundation together for Native American people.
It was instilled in me from a very young age how important
it is to do nice things for other people. I saw how it made her
life very happy and fulfilled.”
She then adds, “The biggest lesson she taught me was that it’s
the little things that often count the most in life. This was
somebody who the world didn’t know about at all, but her
simple acts of kindness left a huge impression. I still get letters from people who work in a dentist’s office, for example,
who will tell me something she did for their daughter – or
something she remembered that just stunned them, because
it was so out of the blue and thoughtful.”
Jolie and her husband have sought to instill in each of their
children a sense of worldliness and gratitude for their incredible lives. The couple also try to involve their children in their
humanitarian work and foster an awareness and empathy for
the plight of others. Following Hurricane Katrina’s devastation
of New Orleans in 2005, Pitt has worked tirelessly to rebuild
homes and support families in the city’s Ninth Quarter, one
of the worst hit neighborhoods.
“We both feel inspired by the work we’re doing and particularly
a project like Brad’s Make It Right [house-building] project,”
Jolie says. “We lead very fulfilling lives. We both want the
same things. We want to be as happy and connected as we
possibly can be because the whole point of being a family is
to share your love and caring with your children. We want
our kids to always feel that we’re one big loving family taking
this big adventure together.”
In the same way Jolie strives to instill compassion in her own
children, it appears her selfless attitude was nurtured by her
mother, Marcheline. “From a very young age, I saw her doing
aid work. She took me to an Amnesty International dinner
Global Compact International Yearbook 2016
Yet, astonishingly, there are still snipers taking shots at Jolie’s
altruism and achievements. Following the recent announcement by the London School of Economics that Jolie is to be
a visiting professor in practice as part of the MSc it offers in
Women, Peacekeeping and Security, some have been quick
to criticize the appointment, saying she lacks the academic
credentials. That rather misses the point, and one can be sure
that Jolie has come a long way since her troubled childhood,
developing the thick skin she needs to deflect such detractors.
“I’m a much stronger and better woman today,” she nods. “I’ve
become a deeper and more understanding individual, and
working for the UN and other missions has been a source of
incredible satisfaction to me. It’s been so important to me to
try to contribute as much as I can to these causes.”
For an actress who is becoming more ubiquitous in the refugee
camps of Syria than the hills of Hollywood, it is obvious.
Written by Karen Anne Overton.
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