Angelina Jolie recently offered a rare glimpse into her parenting approach, emphasizing her pride in raising her six children to be independent individuals. In an interview with L’Officiel, Jolie, 51, stated that a key aspect of her parenting has been to "not get in their way" and to support their personal journeys.
"As a parent, you try to do many things, but you also try to not get in the way of this human being who has a life separate from yours and so much potential in their own mind," she said. "You want to make sure that you support them."
Jolie is mother to Maddox, 24; Pax, 22; Zahara, 21; Shiloh, 20; and 18-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. She shared that now that her children are adults, she is looking forward to pursuing personal endeavors. She envisions more fieldwork, travel, and engaging with the world, even mentioning getting back on her motorcycle and flying planes.
"That’s definitely what my kids want! They had Mom when Mom needed to be Mom. Now, they’d like me to call them from Tunisia having just landed a plane to meet with local artists," Jolie remarked. The "Maleficent" star expressed a desire to live outside the United States for a period, describing her future plans as potentially "nomadic."
She intends to focus more on her foundation work in Cambodia and other fieldwork without maintaining a permanent residence. "I don’t really plan to have a base," she stated.
Jolie shares her children with ex-husband Brad Pitt. It is noted that the children are estranged from Pitt, with four of them—Maddox, Shiloh, Zahara, and Vivienne—having taken legal steps to change their surname. A source indicated to Page Six in July that Jolie does not wish to engage in conflict with Pitt and desires healing for everyone involved. "She just wants everyone to heal," the source said. The insider also claimed that public awareness of the full story might foster more sympathy and respect for the children, highlighting their decency for not speaking negatively about the situation publicly.
In contrast, Pitt has spoken about his struggles in the wake of his divorce from Jolie. In a previous interview with Esquire, Pitt described experiencing suicidal thoughts while navigating "family stuff" a decade after their separation, calling the pain "oppressive."