In a candid interview with Vogue, Angelina Jolie shared how becoming a mother profoundly changed her life. The actress revealed that adopting her first child, Maddox, in 2002 transformed her perspective and saved her from a potentially dark path.
“I was 26 when I became a mother,” Jolie told Vogue. “My entire life changed. Having children saved me and taught me to be in this world differently.”
Jolie, who has six children with her ex-husband Brad Pitt—Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox—spoke about how motherhood continues to be a stabilizing force in her life. “I think, recently, I would’ve gone under in a much darker way had I not wanted to live for them.
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 they laugh at — and I see them taking over many different aspects of our family.”
Reflecting on her upbringing, Jolie contrasted it with her children’s lives and expressed her desire for them to grow into unique identities. “My kids would roll their eyes if they were here,” she said while discussing the significance of her tattoos.
“I was quite dark when I was young. I was a punk, not the popular kid—going to thrift stores, cutting things up, burning little teeny cigarette holes into things. That was me as a teenager, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Maybe that part of me wants to push back.”
Jolie emphasized her hands-off approach to parenting, encouraging her children to express themselves freely. “I don’t tell the kids how to dress.
Even when they were little, I just put things before them. Nobody has to go anywhere if they don’t want to, and if they don’t want to dress up, they don’t have to. I want them to be their people.”
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