Angelina Jolie and her Humanitarian Efforts

Angelina Jolie, partner to Brad Pitt, is the star of several blockbuster movies. Among them Girl Interrupted and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, coincidentally where she met Pitt. But perhaps her most well known portrayal was as the buxom Lara Croft, in the Tomb Raider films. During the shooting of the first movie, much of which was shot on location in Cambodia, Jolie came to witness the beautiful environment, immersive culture, and rampant poverty of the nation. This, she says, opened her eyes and was her stepping stone into humantiarian work.

After Cambodia, Anglina Jolie took a trip to Sierra Leone and Tanzania in 2001, and it was there that she first became actively involved in humanitarium causes. The purpose of that fateful trip was to discover first hand the conditions that refugees must suffer. Angelina was so shocked that shortly after, in August 2001, she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, otherwise known as UNHCR.

The UNHCR assists over 20 million refugees in 120 countries around the world. They were created to protect and safeguard the well-being and rights of refugees. They believe that refugees have a right to seek asylum in another country and will actively seek to engage nations to integrate and support those refugees. Thus far, in only 5 decades, they have helped over 50 million people in the world.

Angelina’s contribution has greatly assisted in generating more widespread attention to this worthy cause. As a goodwill ambassador, her role is to communicate to, and provide a focus on refugees by generating mass-media attention. Though in Jolie’s case this is not merely superficial. She actually spends much of her own time and is genuinely affected by their misery. On her trip to Ecuador, Jolie wrote of the suffering, “People's lives are truly in danger – not just in the sense that you feel your town is unsafe – their lives are actually being threatened and their houses are being burnt down.”

To further increase public awareness, Jolie has released several personal journals of her experiences during field visits. More information can be found at unhcr.org.

As well as the physical effort that Jolie contributes, her foundation with partner Brad Pitt, called the Jolie-Pitt Foundation recently donated USD$1 million to groups working in Darfur. Darfur is a region in war ravaged Sudan, which Jolie has visited three times already.

Jolie now plans to spend most of her time in humanitarian efforts, revealing that she splits her actress her salary three ways; a third for savings, a third for living expenses and a third for charity. Considering she commands a high pay packet for movies, as well as product endorsements, that equates to a considerable amount donated.

Jolie has two adopted children, and is currently thinking of a third. Maddox, a cambodian refugee boy she adopted in 2002, and Zahara, an ethiopian refugee girl. She also has a child with Brad Pitt, named Shiloh.

Together with Pitt, Jolie has stated that she will continue to promote and actively engage in humanitarian causes, as well as pursuing her acting ambitions.

rerereome interesting facts about Angelina Jolie:

1. Full Name: Angelina Jolie Voight. She dropped her surname "Voight" in 2002 and is now known as Angelina Jolie.

2. Birthdate: Angelina Jolie was born on June 4, 1975, in Los Angeles, California, USA.

3. Acting Career: Jolie made her acting debut in the film "Lookin' to Get Out" (1982), alongside her father Jon Voight. However, she gained widespread recognition for her role as Lara Croft in the action-adventure film "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001).

4. Academy Awards: Jolie has won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film "Girl, Interrupted" (1999). She has also received two other nominations for her performances in "Changeling" (2008) and "First They Killed My Father" (2017).

5. Humanitarian Work: Jolie is renowned for her extensive humanitarian work. She has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since 2001 and has visited and advocated for refugees in various countries around the world.

6. Adoption: Jolie has adopted several children from different countries. Her first adopted child, Maddox Chivan, is from Cambodia. She later adopted Pax Thien from Vietnam, Zahara Marley from Ethiopia, and twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline.

7. Directing Career: In addition to acting, Jolie has also ventured into directing. Her directorial debut was the film "In the Land of Blood and Honey" (2011), followed by "Unbroken" (2014) and "First They Killed My Father" (2017), among others.

8. Philanthropy: Jolie co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative in 2012, aimed at combating and addressing sexual violence during times of war and conflict.

9. Health Advocacy: In 2013, Jolie underwent a preventive double mastectomy after discovering she had a high risk of developing breast cancer due to a faulty BRCA1 gene. She has since been an advocate for breast cancer awareness and women's health issues.

10. Personal Life: Jolie was previously married to actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton. She has been in a long-term relationship with actor Brad Pitt, with whom she has six children. However, they separated in 2016, and their divorce was finalized in 2019.

These are just a few notable facts about Angelina Jolie, who is not only recognized for her acting talent but also for her philanthropy and advocacy work.