WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.819 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we're looking 00:00:02.819 --> 00:00:05.519 at someone whose life seems almost built on extremes. 00:00:05.940 --> 00:00:09.359 You know, massive Hollywood success, really intense 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:12.519 personal struggles, all lived out loud. We're 00:00:12.519 --> 00:00:14.240 talking about Angelina Jolie. Yeah, and it's 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.940 such a complex narrative, maybe one of the most 00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:20.000 multifaceted we've tackled. because she embodies 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.120 this incredible duality. She goes from being 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:26.280 a Hollywood -celebrated wild child to this major 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:30.280 action star, a serious actor, and then pivots 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:33.200 again, becoming this high -level diplomatic figure 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:36.310 of special envoys. Quite the arc. That's exactly 00:00:36.310 --> 00:00:39.710 what we want to do today. Move past the tabloid 00:00:39.710 --> 00:00:41.490 stuff, the nicknames, all that noise. Right. 00:00:41.630 --> 00:00:43.890 We're aiming to really analyze the full story. 00:00:43.950 --> 00:00:45.969 Trace that evolution. Right. From calling yourself 00:00:45.969 --> 00:00:48.509 a punk kid with tattoos. Right. All the way to 00:00:48.509 --> 00:00:50.549 winning a Tony Award as a producer, grabbing 00:00:50.549 --> 00:00:52.450 that Oscar, and literally shaping international 00:00:52.450 --> 00:00:54.979 policy with the U .N. And the evidence of her 00:00:54.979 --> 00:00:57.060 influence, it's just staggering when you list 00:00:57.060 --> 00:00:59.799 it out. The awards alone show how much she defied 00:00:59.799 --> 00:01:01.759 categorization. Of course, the early Academy 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:04.019 Award for Best Supporting Actress, three Golden 00:01:04.019 --> 00:01:06.239 Globes across different types of roles. And then 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:08.760 remarkably, just this year, adding a Tony for 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:11.459 producing The Outsiders. But also, crucially, 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:14.680 that Jean Herschel Humanitarian Award. That one 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:17.280 really signals the shift, doesn't it? It validates 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.879 that her focus fundamentally moved beyond just 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:22.799 entertainment. OK, so let's dive into that foundation. 00:01:23.420 --> 00:01:26.439 Where does it all begin? Born Angelina Jolie 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:30.579 Voigt, June 4th, 1975, L .A. Parents are actors 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:33.700 John Voigt and Marceline Bertrand. That lineage 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:36.359 itself sets a certain stage. It really does. 00:01:36.420 --> 00:01:39.659 It gives you both the... artistic potential and 00:01:39.659 --> 00:01:41.939 maybe some of the seeds of that early turbulence. 00:01:42.500 --> 00:01:45.120 Father's side, you've got German and Slovak roots. 00:01:45.299 --> 00:01:47.640 Her mother, Marceline Bertrand, had Dutch and 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:49.859 French Canadian ancestry. And there's this interesting 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:51.599 little detail in the sources about the French 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:53.900 side. Apparently, she's a descendant of Wimcock, 00:01:53.980 --> 00:01:55.819 who was prime minister of the Netherlands. Oh, 00:01:55.859 --> 00:01:59.180 OK. That's an unexpected connection to like formal 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:01.620 governance right there in her background. I also 00:02:01.620 --> 00:02:04.000 recall reading something about a claim of indigenous 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.879 ancestry. Is that right? Yeah, that comes through 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:09.400 her mother's French Canadian line. There was 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:12.659 this distant claim, though it's noted as disputed, 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:15.860 of Iroquois ancestry. But then her father, John 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:18.419 Voight, publicly kind of shot that down later, 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:20.800 said it was something suggested to make her mother 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:24.400 seem, quote, more exotic, which just adds another 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:27.879 sort of complicated layer to an already pretty 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:30.580 fraught family dynamic. And that core family 00:02:30.580 --> 00:02:33.509 unit, it fractures very early on. Parents separated 00:02:33.509 --> 00:02:36.909 in 76. No. And Marceline basically gives up her 00:02:36.909 --> 00:02:39.810 own acting career to raise Angelina and her brother 00:02:39.810 --> 00:02:42.469 James Haven. Exactly. And her mother's sacrifice 00:02:42.469 --> 00:02:45.250 becomes this huge, defining thing for Jolie. 00:02:45.530 --> 00:02:47.550 She often talks about Bertrand as her biggest 00:02:47.550 --> 00:02:49.949 inspiration. But yeah, that adolescence sounds 00:02:49.949 --> 00:02:52.550 deeply, deeply turbulent. A lot of identity searching. 00:02:52.729 --> 00:02:54.810 Especially that time at Beverly Hills High. The 00:02:54.810 --> 00:02:56.889 sources really paint this picture of her feeling 00:02:56.889 --> 00:02:59.139 like a complete outsider, getting bullied. It 00:02:59.139 --> 00:03:01.039 sounds like a real culture shock. Her mom was 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:03.960 an actress, sure, but their income was apparently 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:07.039 quite modest compared to the, you know, extreme 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:09.340 wealth around them at Beverly Hills High. So 00:03:09.340 --> 00:03:13.340 Jolie felt isolated, different, and yeah, reportedly 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:16.080 teased relentlessly for being really thin, wearing 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:19.639 glasses, braces. Just feeling awkward. Which 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:21.560 leads to the move to Moreno High, the alternative 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:24.520 school. Yeah. Seems less about academics and 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:27.000 more about finding her tribe, maybe reinventing 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:29.000 herself. That's exactly the impression. That's 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:31.360 where she really leans into this punk outsider 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:33.400 persona, committing to the all black clothes, 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:35.500 the moshing, getting into that intense energy 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:39.099 and pretty strikingly starting to explore knife 00:03:39.099 --> 00:03:41.319 play. Knife play. OK, that's that's intense, 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:43.800 even for a rebellious phase. And it feels like 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:45.879 it connects directly to those deeper struggles 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.060 she was having internally. It really seems. It's 00:03:48.060 --> 00:03:50.439 just this preoccupation with, I don't know, control, 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:54.719 boundaries, sensation maybe. And this sort of 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:57.599 pull towards darkness led to one of the strangest 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:00.319 career aspirations mentioned. I saw this. Funeral 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:03.280 director. Yeah. For a time, she seriously considered 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:05.340 becoming a funeral director. Apparently even 00:04:05.340 --> 00:04:08.800 took at -home courses in embalming. Wow. Okay, 00:04:08.840 --> 00:04:12.340 from punk outsider to study embalming. That tells 00:04:12.340 --> 00:04:14.919 you so much about maybe needing control or confronting 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:17.560 mortality during a time when everything else 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:20.040 felt overwhelming emotionally. Absolutely. Looking 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:22.980 for some kind of anchor in the chaos and that 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:25.639 internal chaos. It definitely manifested in some 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:28.680 really profound ways. Yeah. We do need to talk 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:30.720 about the seriousness of the mental health struggles 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:32.639 during this period. And yeah, it needs careful 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:34.819 handling. It's really key to understanding the 00:04:34.819 --> 00:04:37.560 person she became later. The sources talk about 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:40.040 significant self -harm. She described it not 00:04:40.040 --> 00:04:43.120 as like a cry for help, but almost therapeutic. 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:45.740 Yeah, her explanation was that she struggled 00:04:45.740 --> 00:04:48.160 so much to feel connected or even just emotionally 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:50.839 alive that the physical act of cutting, feeling 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:53.160 that pain, actually provided a kind of release, 00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:57.139 made her feel real, palpable. And this was happening 00:04:57.139 --> 00:04:59.660 alongside crippling insomnia and an eating disorder. 00:04:59.959 --> 00:05:02.740 And that spiraled by her late teens, early 20s 00:05:02.740 --> 00:05:05.300 into pretty heavy substance abuse. It escalated 00:05:05.300 --> 00:05:08.899 significantly. By 20, she admitted she'd used 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:11.220 just about every drug possible, specifically 00:05:11.220 --> 00:05:14.240 mentioned heroin as being a major problem. This 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:16.500 pushed her into a really deep depression and 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:18.980 profound suicidal thoughts. She actually planned 00:05:18.980 --> 00:05:22.240 suicide twice. And maybe most shocking, at 22, 00:05:22.459 --> 00:05:24.879 she tried to hire a hitman to kill her. A hitman. 00:05:24.939 --> 00:05:27.220 Yeah, thinking it would somehow be easier on 00:05:27.220 --> 00:05:29.399 her family than if she did it herself. That level 00:05:29.399 --> 00:05:32.120 of self -destruction? Yeah. It's hard to fathom. 00:05:32.430 --> 00:05:35.230 And hard to imagine coming back from, especially 00:05:35.230 --> 00:05:37.610 in the public eye. She had a very public breakdown 00:05:37.610 --> 00:05:40.290 around age 24, ended up in the UCLA psychiatric 00:05:40.290 --> 00:05:43.170 ward for 72 hours. But what's really striking 00:05:43.170 --> 00:05:45.550 in the sources is how clear her turning point 00:05:45.550 --> 00:05:48.110 seems to be. It wasn't fame. It wasn't an award. 00:05:48.970 --> 00:05:51.329 It was becoming a mother. Right. Adopting Maddox 00:05:51.329 --> 00:05:53.569 in 2002. That seems to be the line in the sand. 00:05:53.790 --> 00:05:56.209 It really does. She said basically the moment 00:05:56.209 --> 00:05:58.310 she adopted Maddox, her life wasn't just hers 00:05:58.310 --> 00:06:00.589 anymore. She made this public commitment to never 00:06:00.589 --> 00:06:03.189 be self -destructive again, found this grounding 00:06:03.189 --> 00:06:05.529 sense of stability, of responsibility in being 00:06:05.529 --> 00:06:07.750 a parent. That adoption sounds like it genuinely 00:06:07.750 --> 00:06:10.730 saved her life. But before that point, the family 00:06:10.730 --> 00:06:13.410 situation was still dominated by that incredibly 00:06:13.410 --> 00:06:15.970 complex, often painful relationship with her 00:06:15.970 --> 00:06:18.670 father, John Voight. Yeah, that relationship 00:06:18.670 --> 00:06:21.110 was difficult from the very beginning, with Voight 00:06:21.110 --> 00:06:23.149 leaving the family before she was even a year 00:06:23.149 --> 00:06:26.170 old. She described their interactions later as 00:06:26.170 --> 00:06:28.529 being kind of sporadic, sometimes feeling almost 00:06:28.529 --> 00:06:31.329 performative for the cameras. They did try a 00:06:31.329 --> 00:06:33.129 reconciliation, though. Remember, they starred 00:06:33.129 --> 00:06:36.050 together in Lara Croft, Tomb Raider in 2001. 00:06:36.410 --> 00:06:38.430 I do, but the sources say that didn't last long 00:06:38.430 --> 00:06:41.649 at all. It actually led to a really public, even 00:06:41.649 --> 00:06:44.490 legal, split. It deteriorated almost immediately 00:06:44.490 --> 00:06:47.610 after the film. Things got so bad that Jolie 00:06:47.610 --> 00:06:50.110 actually went to court to legally remove Voight 00:06:50.110 --> 00:06:51.990 as her surname. It's a huge statement, right? 00:06:52.230 --> 00:06:54.310 Showing how permanent she felt that separation 00:06:54.310 --> 00:06:57.350 needed to be publicly and personally. The name 00:06:57.350 --> 00:07:00.029 change to just Angelina Jolie was finalized in 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:02.610 late 2002. And Voight didn't take that quietly. 00:07:02.769 --> 00:07:05.269 He went public with his side. He really did. 00:07:05.430 --> 00:07:08.089 Went on Access Hollywood, famously claimed his 00:07:08.089 --> 00:07:11.430 daughter had serious mental problems, and basically 00:07:11.430 --> 00:07:14.329 pleaded with her publicly to get help. That seemed 00:07:14.329 --> 00:07:16.850 to be the absolute final straw. Her mother and 00:07:16.850 --> 00:07:18.930 brother sided completely with Anjanina, cutting 00:07:18.930 --> 00:07:21.490 off contact with Voight too. And that silence, 00:07:21.689 --> 00:07:24.310 according to the sources, was total. Lasted for 00:07:24.310 --> 00:07:27.269 years. Living through that under a media microscope 00:07:27.269 --> 00:07:30.089 must have been incredibly difficult. Yeah, six 00:07:30.089 --> 00:07:32.129 and a half years of absolutely no communication. 00:07:32.610 --> 00:07:35.930 A silence that was only broken, tragically, when 00:07:35.930 --> 00:07:38.550 her mother, Marshallene Bertrand, passed away 00:07:38.550 --> 00:07:42.110 from ovarian cancer in early 2007. They did publicly 00:07:42.110 --> 00:07:44.290 reconcile a few years after Bertrand's death, 00:07:44.370 --> 00:07:46.029 but you have to imagine the scars from those 00:07:46.029 --> 00:07:47.990 years of estrangement, those public accusations. 00:07:48.470 --> 00:07:51.000 They run deep. What's so wild is that all this 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:53.100 personal turmoil is happening right alongside 00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:55.680 this incredibly fast moving, evolving career. 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:58.120 It wasn't just one trajectory. You can almost 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:01.540 see four distinct phases. Absolutely. That first 00:08:01.540 --> 00:08:05.759 phase, maybe 91 to 97, was really marked by struggle. 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:09.160 Despite her parents being actors, she apparently 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:11.579 had a tough time in auditions. Casting directors 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:14.360 kept saying her persona was like too dark, too 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:16.579 intense. Yeah. And their first film role sounds 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:19.000 like it was a real blow. Her debut in Cyborg 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:21.459 2, that direct -to -video sci -fi thing in 93, 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:24.040 it was apparently such a disappointment she just 00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:26.699 stopped auditioning for a whole year. She got 00:08:26.699 --> 00:08:28.839 some early visibility doing music videos, though. 00:08:28.899 --> 00:08:31.939 Lenny Kravitz, Meatloaf, and that really memorable 00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:34.200 Rolling Stones video, Anybody Seen My Baby? Oh, 00:08:34.220 --> 00:08:35.820 right, where she played the stripper. Exactly. 00:08:36.419 --> 00:08:39.740 But the film that really broke her through, established 00:08:39.740 --> 00:08:43.960 that unique, edgy presence, was Hackers in 1995. 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:46.039 Yeah, Hackers definitely put her on the map in 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:47.960 a different way. That film just clicked with 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:50.700 her look, her vibe, that sort of unconventional 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:53.039 confidence. The New York Times even singled out 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:55.039 that specific scene, her sitting at the keyboard 00:08:55.039 --> 00:08:57.639 in a see -through top. It wasn't just acting. 00:08:57.659 --> 00:09:01.080 It cemented her as this distinct kind of dangerous, 00:09:01.139 --> 00:09:04.200 cool figure for young people. OK, so then phase 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:08.059 two, maybe 97 to 2000. This is where she shifts 00:09:08.059 --> 00:09:10.460 from just edgy to critically acclaimed. Right. 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:13.039 Starting with TV. Yes, she found major success 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:15.840 almost immediately in TV biopics, won Golden 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:18.220 Globes, got Emmy nods for playing Cornelia Wallace 00:09:18.220 --> 00:09:21.120 in George Wallace, and then the big one, playing 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:24.820 the model Gia Karangi in Gia in 98. And Gia became 00:09:24.820 --> 00:09:27.480 legendary for how deep she went with method acting. 00:09:28.009 --> 00:09:30.110 The sources suggest she basically walled herself 00:09:30.110 --> 00:09:32.250 off from her real life. The intensity sounds 00:09:32.250 --> 00:09:35.110 almost scary, honestly. She completely submerged 00:09:35.110 --> 00:09:37.350 herself in Gia's character, the addiction, the 00:09:37.350 --> 00:09:39.830 decline. She apparently told her husband at the 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:42.690 time, Johnny Lee Miller, don't call me. I'm alone. 00:09:42.830 --> 00:09:44.389 I'm denying I'm gay. I'm not going to see you 00:09:44.389 --> 00:09:47.409 for weeks. Just total immersion. It was so draining 00:09:47.409 --> 00:09:49.529 that after Gia, she apparently said she was quitting 00:09:49.529 --> 00:09:52.429 acting, felt she had nothing left. But that intensity 00:09:52.429 --> 00:09:55.490 brought huge rewards. The Oscar win for Best 00:09:55.490 --> 00:09:57.809 Supporting Actress came right after in 99 for 00:09:57.809 --> 00:10:01.190 Girl, Interrupted. Playing Lisa Rowe, that magnetic, 00:10:01.330 --> 00:10:04.710 manipulative, sociopathic patient. It was perfect 00:10:04.710 --> 00:10:06.970 casting for that specific energy she had then. 00:10:07.210 --> 00:10:10.250 Roger Ebert nailed it when he called her one 00:10:10.250 --> 00:10:12.169 of the great wild spirits of current movies, 00:10:12.350 --> 00:10:15.149 a loose cannon who somehow has deadly aim. The 00:10:15.149 --> 00:10:17.820 Oscar basically said, OK, she's a lead. Now, 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:20.360 this is such an interesting pivot. She hits the 00:10:20.360 --> 00:10:22.759 absolute peak of critical acclaim with the Oscar 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:25.500 for this intense method role and then immediately 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:27.860 shifts into phase three, becoming this global 00:10:27.860 --> 00:10:31.179 blockbuster action hero. What drove that like 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:35.139 180 turn from 2001 onwards? It feels very calculated 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:37.559 and incredibly effective, maybe partly about 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:39.840 translating that fame into real financial power, 00:10:39.980 --> 00:10:41.980 but also finding a different kind of challenge, 00:10:42.139 --> 00:10:44.340 something physical, not just psychological. And 00:10:44.340 --> 00:10:46.639 Lara Croft, Tomb Raider in 2001, was the vehicle. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:49.139 that shift and it worked instantly huge international 00:10:49.139 --> 00:10:51.200 hit required a total physical transformation 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:53.379 too oh yeah she threw herself into it months 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:56.039 of martial arts weapons training even ballet 00:10:56.039 --> 00:10:59.000 apparently and mastering that specific upper 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.399 class english accent critics were kind of mixed 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:04.720 on the film itself but audiences loved it 274 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:07.580 million dollars worldwide it didn't just make 00:11:07.580 --> 00:11:09.879 her an a -lister it made her one of the very 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:13.440 very few bankable female action stars globally 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:15.799 And her paychecks reflected that immediately, 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:18.179 put her right at the top tier in Hollywood. Absolutely. 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:20.840 Started commanding, you know, $10 to $15 million 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:24.200 a film right after that from 2002 on. And she 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:26.419 followed Tomb Raider with huge hits like Mr. 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:29.759 and Mrs. Smith in 2005. That one perfectly played 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:32.179 into her public image at the time. Massive hit, 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:34.679 nearly half a billion dollars. And all the reviews 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:37.100 just talked about that thermonuclear screen chemistry 00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:39.879 with her co -star. And she used that power, that 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:42.320 bankability to take roles that maybe weren't 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:44.799 originally written for women. Showing some serious 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:48.279 clout. Exactly. Wanted in 2008 did well, but 00:11:48.279 --> 00:11:50.580 the real power play was probably Salt in 2010. 00:11:50.899 --> 00:11:53.720 That lead role, Evelyn Salt, was originally developed 00:11:53.720 --> 00:11:56.519 for Tom Cruise. She steps in, makes it her own, 00:11:56.580 --> 00:11:58.639 and proves her box office pull is right up there 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:01.299 with any male action lead. But even during this 00:12:01.299 --> 00:12:04.519 peak action star, high earning phase, she didn't 00:12:04.519 --> 00:12:06.960 completely ditch the series' dramatic work, did 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:09.539 she? No, she kept that balance really well, actually. 00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:12.019 Her performance as Marianne Pearl in A Mighty 00:12:12.019 --> 00:12:15.419 Heart in 2007 got fantastic reviews for its subtlety 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:17.620 and the accent work, even though there was some 00:12:17.620 --> 00:12:20.200 controversy around the casting itself. And then 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:22.639 Changeling in 2008, directed by Clint Eastwood, 00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:25.240 that was another huge critical success, got her 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:27.779 a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Which brings 00:12:27.779 --> 00:12:30.460 us more or less to Phase 4, starting around 2011. 00:12:30.899 --> 00:12:34.039 Her focus seems to really shift towards directing, 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:36.720 producing, telling more international stories. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:39.080 stories aligning much more with her humanitarian 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:41.559 work yeah you can feel her interests changing 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:43.940 her first time directing a feature in the land 00:12:43.940 --> 00:12:46.700 of blood and honey in 2011 felt like a real passion 00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:49.659 project a love story set during the bosnian war 00:12:49.659 --> 00:12:53.200 directly fueled by her unhcr experiences and 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:54.799 the fact that it earned her honorary citizenship 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:57.220 of sarajevo shows that connection right film 00:12:57.220 --> 00:12:59.740 and diplomacy merging but even with that shift 00:12:59.740 --> 00:13:02.559 she proves she could still open a massive blockbuster 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:04.799 when she wanted to going back to fantasy Oh, 00:13:04.820 --> 00:13:07.299 absolutely. You can't ignore Maleficent in 2014. 00:13:07.700 --> 00:13:10.039 That became her biggest box office hit ever. 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:13.879 Over $750 million worldwide. Just showed her 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:16.139 unique star power in that kind of big fantasy 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:19.299 spectacle. And the sequel in 2019 did almost 00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:22.620 half a billion too. Proves her draw, decades 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:25.200 in. She balanced that with more serious directing 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.919 jobs, including that very personal one with Brad 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:30.590 Pitt. Right. She directed Unbroken in 2014, that 00:13:30.590 --> 00:13:33.129 big World War II story, which did well commercially 00:13:33.129 --> 00:13:35.070 and showed she could handle large scale historical 00:13:35.070 --> 00:13:37.990 stuff. And then came By the Sea in 2015, that 00:13:37.990 --> 00:13:40.850 very intimate kind of European style art film 00:13:40.850 --> 00:13:43.529 drama she starred in with Pitt, drew on her mother's 00:13:43.529 --> 00:13:45.710 life, her struggles. Critics were quite harsh 00:13:45.710 --> 00:13:47.490 on that one, though. Many called it a vanity 00:13:47.490 --> 00:13:49.909 project. And her focus just kept leaning more 00:13:49.909 --> 00:13:52.029 international, more towards producing. First, 00:13:52.049 --> 00:13:54.250 They Killed My Father in 2017 is a prime example. 00:13:54.409 --> 00:13:57.029 Set during the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, a place 00:13:57.029 --> 00:13:59.629 so central. to her life story, produced for Netflix, 00:13:59.850 --> 00:14:02.809 entirely Camara cast, really showed her commitment 00:14:02.809 --> 00:14:05.110 to stories outside the usual Hollywood focus. 00:14:05.190 --> 00:14:06.570 And we have to touch on the recent stuff too, 00:14:06.610 --> 00:14:08.870 blending acting and producing again. Definitely. 00:14:08.950 --> 00:14:11.830 Winning the Tony in 2024 for producing The Outsiders 00:14:11.830 --> 00:14:14.710 musical. That's a whole new arena theater. And 00:14:14.710 --> 00:14:16.950 she succeeded there. And then her latest acting 00:14:16.950 --> 00:14:19.889 role, playing Maria Callas in Maria, already 00:14:19.889 --> 00:14:22.570 getting massive buzz. Golden Globe nomination, 00:14:23.029 --> 00:14:26.610 critics calling it a career best, shows her power 00:14:26.610 --> 00:14:28.870 as a dramatic actress is still absolutely there. 00:14:29.129 --> 00:14:32.289 Let's pivot back to that moment in 2001, Cambodia. 00:14:32.970 --> 00:14:35.190 Filming Tomb Raider, because that seems to be 00:14:35.190 --> 00:14:37.309 the absolute turning point, shifting her from 00:14:37.309 --> 00:14:41.070 just film star to this dedicated global citizen. 00:14:41.210 --> 00:14:43.009 It wasn't just a quick photo op, was it? No, 00:14:43.169 --> 00:14:45.409 not at all. It was a fundamental rerouting. She 00:14:45.409 --> 00:14:47.470 describes seeing the humanitarian crisis there 00:14:47.470 --> 00:14:50.090 firsthand in a country still recovering from 00:14:50.090 --> 00:14:52.009 war. It just gave her this immediate, really 00:14:52.009 --> 00:14:54.370 visceral understanding of global suffering. And 00:14:54.370 --> 00:14:56.110 she didn't just, you know, tweet about it. She 00:14:56.110 --> 00:14:57.970 came home and immediately contacted the U .N. 00:14:57.970 --> 00:15:00.929 High Commissioner for Refugees, the UNHCR, directly 00:15:00.929 --> 00:15:03.419 bypassed the usual. And the commitment level 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:06.399 right from the start was apparently way beyond 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:08.940 what you usually see from celebrities. Absolutely. 00:15:09.100 --> 00:15:11.399 It wasn't just lending her name. Within months, 00:15:11.419 --> 00:15:14.159 she was doing intense field missions, Sierra 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:17.519 Leone, Tanzania, Pakistan, meeting Afghan refugees. 00:15:17.860 --> 00:15:21.679 And she immediately donated $1 million to a UNHCR 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:24.879 emergency appeal for Pakistan, which at that 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:27.200 time was the single biggest private donation 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.139 UNHCR had ever received. And the sources make 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:32.559 a point of saying she insisted on sharing the 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:35.019 same basic conditions as the field staff. That's 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:37.320 so key. She paid for everything herself, flights. 00:15:37.710 --> 00:15:39.929 security, everything, covered all mission costs, 00:15:40.090 --> 00:15:42.669 and insisted on living and working in the exact 00:15:42.669 --> 00:15:45.169 same, often very rudimentary conditions as the 00:15:45.169 --> 00:15:47.850 UNHCR field staff. She wasn't just visiting, 00:15:47.909 --> 00:15:50.269 she was genuinely embedding herself in the work. 00:15:50.409 --> 00:15:52.090 That kind of dedication obviously got noticed, 00:15:52.230 --> 00:15:53.789 led to the formal appointment pretty quickly. 00:15:53.909 --> 00:15:56.950 Yeah, named a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in August 00:15:56.950 --> 00:15:59.330 2001, and then for the next decade, the pace 00:15:59.330 --> 00:16:01.769 was just relentless. Over 40 field missions, 00:16:01.850 --> 00:16:03.970 more than 30 countries, and she deliberately 00:16:03.970 --> 00:16:06.309 focused on what she called forgotten emergencies, 00:16:06.570 --> 00:16:08.960 crises, The media had moved on from going into 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:11.299 active war zones like Darfur, the Syrian -Iraqi 00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:14.000 border, Kabul regularly. There's that interesting 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:16.259 detail in the sources, too, about her becoming 00:16:16.259 --> 00:16:19.700 a pilot, aiding her work. Yes. To help her get 00:16:19.700 --> 00:16:22.340 to these remote, often dangerous places quickly 00:16:22.340 --> 00:16:25.840 and even to. personally ferry aid supplies sometimes, 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:29.519 she got her pilot's license in 2004. By 2014, 00:16:29.980 --> 00:16:33.320 sources say she owned a Cirrus SR -22 and a Cessna 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:36.940 208 Caravan. It just shows this practical operational 00:16:36.940 --> 00:16:39.580 commitment, you know, not just the symphonic 00:16:39.580 --> 00:16:42.100 stuff. And her role evolved significantly in 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:45.279 2012, confirming that move into serious diplomacy. 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:47.879 Big step up. promoted special envoy to the high 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:49.720 commissioner. That gave her actual diplomatic 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:52.220 authority. She could represent the high commissioner 00:16:52.220 --> 00:16:55.179 himself in major crises, like meeting Colombian 00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:57.460 refugees, dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis 00:16:57.460 --> 00:16:59.519 at a high level. She did step down from that 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.279 specific role in 2022, but pledged to keep advocating. 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:04.960 And her work branched out, too, into conservation, 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:07.500 community development, mainly through the Maddox 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:10.480 Jolie -Pitt Foundation, right? MJP. MJT is huge. 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:13.380 Based in Cambodia, obviously, Maddox's birthplace. 00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:17.200 Started in 2003, initially maybe just to connect 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:18.920 him to his heritage, but it quickly became this 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:21.539 massive conservation project. She bought this 00:17:21.539 --> 00:17:24.940 initial plot of land, 39 hectares, next to Sam 00:17:24.940 --> 00:17:27.500 Laut National Park, which was apparently overrun 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:29.400 with illegal poachers. So how did she tackle 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:31.819 that? Turning a poaching hotspot into a reserve? 00:17:32.339 --> 00:17:34.079 Well, she didn't just buy the land and put up 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:36.400 a fence. The foundation eventually expanded its 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:38.960 protection to cover 60 ,000 hectares of the park. 00:17:39.390 --> 00:17:41.309 And the really smart part was the community strategy. 00:17:41.990 --> 00:17:45.089 MJP hired former poachers, former illegal loggers, 00:17:45.109 --> 00:17:47.789 gave them stable jobs as rangers, conservationists. 00:17:47.890 --> 00:17:49.890 It completely changed the economic incentive, 00:17:50.089 --> 00:17:52.150 turned adversaries into guardians. And MJP grew 00:17:52.150 --> 00:17:54.289 beyond just wildlife, didn't it, into community 00:17:54.289 --> 00:17:57.390 infrastructure? Yeah. In 2006, it became one 00:17:57.390 --> 00:18:00.029 of Asia's first millennium villages, based on 00:18:00.029 --> 00:18:03.210 that Jeffrey Sachs model. Building schools, roads, 00:18:03.349 --> 00:18:05.390 creating sustainable local businesses like a 00:18:05.390 --> 00:18:08.910 soy milk factory. Supporting around 6 ,000 villagers, 00:18:09.250 --> 00:18:11.950 aiming for long -term economic health. Plus, 00:18:12.009 --> 00:18:13.910 she set up the Shiloh Jolie -Pitt Foundation 00:18:13.910 --> 00:18:16.809 in Namibia, focused on large animal conservation 00:18:16.809 --> 00:18:18.910 and funding clinics, and a school for the local 00:18:18.910 --> 00:18:21.470 San Bushmen community. Really broad scope. Back 00:18:21.470 --> 00:18:23.190 in the U .S., she was also pushing hard on the 00:18:23.190 --> 00:18:25.390 legislative side, especially around child immigrants. 00:18:25.609 --> 00:18:28.470 Consistently. Lobbying in D .C. for things like 00:18:28.470 --> 00:18:30.390 the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act 00:18:30.390 --> 00:18:34.069 back in 2005. Since 2008, she's co -chaired Kind 00:18:34.069 --> 00:18:36.519 Kids in Need of Defense. That group... basically 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:39.940 coordinates free pro bono legal help for unaccompanied 00:18:39.940 --> 00:18:42.180 minors and immigration proceedings, which is 00:18:42.180 --> 00:18:44.900 a huge, huge need. And education, particularly 00:18:44.900 --> 00:18:47.779 in conflict zones, remained a big focus. Right. 00:18:48.220 --> 00:18:50.380 Co -chairing the Education Partnership for Children 00:18:50.380 --> 00:18:52.559 of Conflict, pushing for policy and funding, 00:18:52.740 --> 00:18:55.160 directly funding schools in places like Kenya, 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:58.700 Afghanistan, Cambodia, and also recognizing the 00:18:58.700 --> 00:19:00.759 information crisis. She's an executive producer 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:03.779 on that BBC program, My World, teaching teens 00:19:03.779 --> 00:19:07.000 media literacy, how to spot fake news. But maybe 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:09.480 the most significant lasting institutional impact 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:12.480 came from her work fighting sexual violence and 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.319 conflict. That seems to be where she truly shifted 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:19.380 from advocate to actual. policy shaper? The Preventing 00:19:19.380 --> 00:19:21.759 Sexual Violence Initiative, PSVI, that's probably 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:24.259 the peak of her diplomatic achievement, launched 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:26.480 in 2012 with William Hague, who was the UK foreign 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:29.259 secretary then. And the direct inspiration, interestingly, 00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:31.259 was her film In the Land of Blood and Honey. 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:33.640 It made the issue unavoidable for her. What were 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:35.619 the concrete results of PSVI? It sounds like 00:19:35.619 --> 00:19:38.160 she achieved things that career diplomats often 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:40.539 struggle with. She used her unique platform, 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:43.440 her access, her diplomatic standing to speak 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:46.339 directly to the most powerful groups. She addressed 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:49.559 the G8 foreign ministers, the UN Security Council, 00:19:49.740 --> 00:19:53.500 and it led to actual binding declarations. The 00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:56.039 G8 adopted this landmark statement committing 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:58.779 to tackle the issue. The UN passed its broadest 00:19:58.779 --> 00:20:01.059 resolution ever on preventing sexual violence 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:04.140 as a weapon of war. She played a key role in 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:06.319 fundamentally shifting how the world treats this, 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.180 not just as a tragic side effect. of war, but 00:20:09.180 --> 00:20:12.380 as a recognized prosecutable war crime. That 00:20:12.380 --> 00:20:15.079 is just a remarkable use of celebrity power for 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:17.259 concrete policy change. And it even led to an 00:20:17.259 --> 00:20:19.279 academic position for her. Yeah. Recognizing 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:21.259 her expertise, the London School of Economics, 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:24.660 LSE, appointed her a visiting professor in 2016, 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:27.299 helped establish their center on women, peace 00:20:27.299 --> 00:20:30.019 and security. And she hasn't stopped. Domestically, 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:32.079 she keeps lobbying for the Violence Against Women 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:35.180 Act, Cadence Law, the Justice for All Reauthorization 00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:37.519 Act. And she's weighed in on current global events. 00:20:37.609 --> 00:20:41.200 too using her platform. definitely visited ukrainian 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:43.660 children in 2022 to highlight the war's impact 00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:46.759 and in 2023 she made major headlines criticizing 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:50.279 israel's actions in gaza very publicly calling 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:53.539 for a humanitarian ceasefire all of which understandably 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:55.720 brought recognition from the very highest levels 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:57.579 well she got the freedom award from the international 00:20:57.579 --> 00:21:00.880 rescue committee back in 2007 but the big one 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:03.940 obviously was in 2014 when queen elizabeth ii 00:21:03.940 --> 00:21:06.599 made her an honorary dame commander the dcmg 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:09.599 for her services to uk foreign policy and her 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:11.940 campaigning, personally received it from the 00:21:11.940 --> 00:21:14.339 queen. That image, that moment, going from the 00:21:14.339 --> 00:21:16.859 wild child with blood vials to Dame Commander 00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:20.019 Jolie, it perfectly encapsulates that incredible 00:21:20.019 --> 00:21:22.220 transformation. Of course, that journey to Dame 00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:24.319 Commander was paved with some incredibly public, 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:26.660 often controversial personal choices that really 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:29.140 defined her early image. Her relationships were, 00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:32.359 well, pure tabloid gold. They were almost performance 00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:34.680 art in themselves, weren't they? Even before 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:36.920 she was globally famous, she talked about her 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:38.589 first serious relationship relationship, age 00:21:38.589 --> 00:21:42.509 14 to 16, as being like a marriage in its intensity. 00:21:42.910 --> 00:21:44.910 Her mom actually let the boyfriend live with 00:21:44.910 --> 00:21:47.089 them, thinking it might provide some safety, 00:21:47.150 --> 00:21:50.089 some stability for her. Then came the first actual 00:21:50.089 --> 00:21:53.069 marriage to Johnny Lee Miller, famous for the 00:21:53.069 --> 00:21:56.529 unusual wedding outfit. Oh yeah, the 1996 wedding, 00:21:56.750 --> 00:21:59.950 pure Jolie theater, black rubber pants, white 00:21:59.950 --> 00:22:02.470 t -shirt with his name written on it in her own 00:22:02.470 --> 00:22:05.359 blood. That marriage lasted about four years, 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.059 ending just as she was moving into her next big 00:22:08.059 --> 00:22:10.319 public relationship. And during that period, 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:12.019 she was also really open about relationships 00:22:12.019 --> 00:22:14.900 with women, confirming her bisexuality. Very 00:22:14.900 --> 00:22:17.119 open. Talked about her relationship with model 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:19.779 Jenny Shimizu, famously saying, I would probably 00:22:19.779 --> 00:22:21.579 have married Jenny if I hadn't married my husband. 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:23.400 I fell in love with her the first second I saw 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:25.579 her. And later explicitly confirmed it, saying, 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:27.779 yeah, if she fell in love with a woman, absolutely, 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:30.339 yes. Then came the Billy Bob Thornton marriage. 00:22:30.890 --> 00:22:34.549 2000 to 2003, that became like the global symbol 00:22:34.549 --> 00:22:37.910 of extreme over -the -top public passion. That 00:22:37.910 --> 00:22:40.769 was the era, wasn't it? Matching tattoos, constant 00:22:40.769 --> 00:22:43.009 public declarations of love, and of course the 00:22:43.009 --> 00:22:45.029 vials of each other's blood worn around their 00:22:45.029 --> 00:22:47.730 necks. They announced Maddox's adoption together, 00:22:47.930 --> 00:22:50.529 but then suddenly split just three months later. 00:22:51.150 --> 00:22:53.490 Thornton blamed different lifestyles, but Jolie 00:22:53.490 --> 00:22:55.269 admitted it caught her off guard, said something 00:22:55.269 --> 00:22:58.650 like, overnight we totally changed. One day we 00:22:58.650 --> 00:23:01.430 had just nothing in common. Which leads, inevitably, 00:23:01.730 --> 00:23:04.890 to the whole Brangelina era, starting with Mr. 00:23:05.049 --> 00:23:07.910 and Mrs. Smith. and the very public end of Brad 00:23:07.910 --> 00:23:10.230 Pitt's marriage to Jennifer Aniston. The media 00:23:10.230 --> 00:23:13.410 storm around that was just unprecedented. Jolie 00:23:13.410 --> 00:23:15.470 always strongly denied an affair during filming, 00:23:15.549 --> 00:23:17.750 though. She often brought up her own trauma from 00:23:17.750 --> 00:23:19.690 her father cheating on her mother, saying she 00:23:19.690 --> 00:23:21.230 couldn't have lived with herself if she'd done 00:23:21.230 --> 00:23:23.809 that. But their relationship lasting 12 years 00:23:23.809 --> 00:23:27.049 became this global obsession, constant, intense 00:23:27.049 --> 00:23:29.250 scrutiny. What's interesting is how quickly they 00:23:29.250 --> 00:23:32.150 seem to harness that intense fame, that scrutiny, 00:23:32.309 --> 00:23:35.250 for philanthropic purposes. Yeah, it was a very... 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:37.720 conscious strategy, it seems, moving from maybe 00:23:37.720 --> 00:23:40.880 self -focused performance art to strategic philanthropy. 00:23:41.700 --> 00:23:44.220 They broke records selling the first photos of 00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:46.079 their children with all the money going to charity. 00:23:46.599 --> 00:23:49.059 Shiloh's first pictures reportedly went for $7 00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:53.500 .6 million to UNICEF. Then the twins, Knox and 00:23:53.500 --> 00:23:56.160 Vivienne, their first photo sold for a reported 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:59.859 $14 million. $14 million. Wow. Yeah, the most 00:23:59.859 --> 00:24:02.180 expensive celebrity photos ever at the time. 00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:04.460 And all of it went straight to their Jolie -Pitt 00:24:04.460 --> 00:24:06.759 Foundation. And the family itself grew rapidly 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:08.660 during that time, becoming this very visible 00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:11.829 blend. of biological and adopted children from 00:24:11.829 --> 00:24:15.049 around the world. Six kids in total. Maddox from 00:24:15.049 --> 00:24:17.710 Cambodia in 2002, the adoption was later cleared, 00:24:17.750 --> 00:24:19.809 despite some controversy around the facilitator 00:24:19.809 --> 00:24:23.109 involved. Zahara from Ethiopia in 2005, initially 00:24:23.109 --> 00:24:25.049 thought to be an AIDS orphan, though her birth 00:24:25.049 --> 00:24:26.910 mother later came forward and okayed the adoption. 00:24:27.470 --> 00:24:29.990 Pitt formally adopted both Maddox and Zahara 00:24:29.990 --> 00:24:33.349 in 2006. Then Shiloh, their first biological 00:24:33.349 --> 00:24:36.009 child, born in Namibia later that year. And the 00:24:36.009 --> 00:24:38.029 adoption of Pax from Vietnam had some specific 00:24:38.029 --> 00:24:40.660 hurdles, right? It did, because Vietnamese law 00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:42.859 at the time didn't allow unmarried couples to 00:24:42.859 --> 00:24:47.119 co -adopt. So Jolie adopted Pax in 2007, technically 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:49.980 as a single parent. Pitt then adopted him formally 00:24:49.980 --> 00:24:53.019 in the U .S. in 2008. And finally, the biological 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:55.940 twins, Knox and Vivienne, were born in France 00:24:55.940 --> 00:24:58.640 in 2008. The marriage itself ended very publicly 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:02.160 in 2016, triggering this incredibly long, messy 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:05.019 and highly publicized legal fight. Oh, the separation 00:25:05.019 --> 00:25:07.579 kicked off years of legal battles over custody 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:10.779 and finances, dragging on well into 2021. It 00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:13.480 got very ugly, included Jolie filing counterclaims 00:25:13.480 --> 00:25:15.700 alleging physical and verbal abuse by Pitt on 00:25:15.700 --> 00:25:18.430 that 2016 plane flight. The FBI investigated 00:25:18.430 --> 00:25:20.490 but ultimately closed the case without charges. 00:25:20.710 --> 00:25:23.130 But just the sheer length and public nature of 00:25:23.130 --> 00:25:25.309 the disputes almost five years, it really showed 00:25:25.309 --> 00:25:27.289 how hard it is to untangle a partnership that 00:25:27.289 --> 00:25:29.769 had become that mythic. Despite all that intense, 00:25:29.950 --> 00:25:32.970 often negative focus on her private life, arguably 00:25:32.970 --> 00:25:34.990 her biggest cultural impact came from her health 00:25:34.990 --> 00:25:37.950 advocacy, what the media dubbed the Angelina 00:25:37.950 --> 00:25:40.289 Effect. This is such a clear example of using 00:25:40.289 --> 00:25:44.640 fame for widespread good. In 2013, Jolie, only 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:47.720 37, announces she's had a preventative double 00:25:47.720 --> 00:25:50.640 mastectomy, not because she had cancer, but because 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:54.000 she carried that faulty BRCA1 gene, giving her 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:57.000 an estimated 87 percent lifetime risk of breast 00:25:57.000 --> 00:25:59.960 cancer. Her mother, grandmother, aunt had all 00:25:59.960 --> 00:26:03.000 died from related cancers. It was a very proactive 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:05.480 preventative choice driven by that family history. 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:07.440 And she followed it up just two years later with 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:10.140 another major preventive surgery. Right. In 2015, 00:26:10.339 --> 00:26:12.630 she had a preventative cell. pinger oophorectomy 00:26:12.630 --> 00:26:15.690 removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes because 00:26:15.690 --> 00:26:19.369 the BRCA1 gene also gave her a 50 % risk of ovarian 00:26:19.369 --> 00:26:21.930 cancer. That procedure immediately put her into 00:26:21.930 --> 00:26:24.450 premature menopause. And she chose to share these 00:26:24.450 --> 00:26:26.910 incredibly personal, difficult decisions very 00:26:26.910 --> 00:26:29.410 publicly through op -eds in the New York Times, 00:26:29.609 --> 00:26:31.849 making herself vulnerable to raise awareness. 00:26:32.109 --> 00:26:34.190 She was incredibly candid, explained her reasoning 00:26:34.190 --> 00:26:36.289 very clearly, doing it for her children so she 00:26:36.289 --> 00:26:37.930 could be there for them. And she framed it as 00:26:37.930 --> 00:26:40.450 empowering, challenging ideas about femininity, 00:26:40.529 --> 00:26:42.789 saying, she felt she'd made a strong choice that 00:26:42.789 --> 00:26:45.769 in no way diminishes my femininity. And the impact 00:26:45.769 --> 00:26:49.279 was immediate and measurable. globally. Yeah. 00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:51.819 The Angelina effect became this documented public 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:55.019 health phenomenon, a huge sustained spike in 00:26:55.019 --> 00:26:58.619 referrals for BRCA gene testing worldwide. Rates 00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:01.619 tripled in Australia, doubled in the UK, Canada, 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:05.059 India. Research showed her message really reached 00:27:05.059 --> 00:27:07.119 the target audience, prompting women at risk 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:10.220 to seek testing. And crucially, her advocacy 00:27:10.220 --> 00:27:12.160 happened right around the time the U .S. Supreme 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:14.619 Court struck down patents on the BRCA genes in 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:17.319 2013, which made testing much cheaper and more 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:19.859 accessible. The timing was perfect. Okay, finally, 00:27:19.900 --> 00:27:21.539 let's just quickly touch on her public image 00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:24.720 evolution, her status as a style icon. It's an 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:26.920 incredible transformation to track. Those early 00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:29.240 years were all about the wild child image, right? 00:27:29.299 --> 00:27:32.579 Gothic influences, leather, tattoos, the fascination 00:27:32.579 --> 00:27:35.160 with knives, blood. That's what grabbed the initial 00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:38.559 headlines. But by 2006, as the humanitarian work 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:41.119 became more prominent, her Q score, that industry 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:43.400 measure of likability and familiarity, had nearly 00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:45.500 doubled. She somehow managed to become a sex 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:48.200 symbol, a mother of six, and a respected global 00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:50.480 humanitarian figure all at the same time, which 00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:53.559 is rare. She really did reconcile those seemingly 00:27:53.740 --> 00:27:56.980 contradictory images in the public mind, constantly 00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:59.359 named world's most beautiful woman by magazines, 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:03.339 Forbes' most powerful celebrity in 2009. Her 00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:05.940 look became iconic. The full lips, the numerous 00:28:05.940 --> 00:28:08.680 tattoos, like the Sanskrit prayers, that Latin 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:11.819 quote, quote me, nutrite me, nourishes me, destroys 00:28:11.819 --> 00:28:15.220 me. They're instantly recognizable cultural markers. 00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:17.640 And her fashion sense evolved right along with 00:28:17.640 --> 00:28:20.539 her public role. Big time. That shift from the 00:28:20.539 --> 00:28:24.180 dark, gothic leather look to... this very minimalist, 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:27.000 often old Hollywood -inspired glamour was really 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:29.420 noticeable and clearly intentional. Maybe the 00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:31.700 peak iconic style moment was that black velvet 00:28:31.700 --> 00:28:34.240 Versace gown at the 2012 Oscars. Oh, the leg 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:36.279 dress. The leg dress, exactly. That dramatic 00:28:36.279 --> 00:28:39.279 pose became an instant, enduring global meme, 00:28:39.400 --> 00:28:41.680 just cemented her status as this massive cultural 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:43.759 influencer, even just standing still on a red 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:47.160 carpet. So when you pull it all together, what 00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:49.799 our sources really show... is this narrative 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:54.960 completely defined by duality and by deliberate 00:28:54.960 --> 00:28:57.619 transformation. You have the deeply troubled 00:28:57.619 --> 00:29:00.000 young woman overcoming some really serious self 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:02.420 -destructive patterns, seemingly through sheer 00:29:02.420 --> 00:29:04.960 force of will, to become this figure of global 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:06.859 responsibility. Yeah, and you have the cinematic 00:29:06.859 --> 00:29:10.039 powerhouse who broke ground for women in action 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:12.740 films, but then consciously chose to step back 00:29:12.740 --> 00:29:15.440 from that intense spotlight to become this dedicated 00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:19.059 special envoy tackling global crises with real 00:29:19.059 --> 00:29:21.720 diplomatic weight. Her life story really is like 00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:23.859 a case study in how to turn intense personal 00:29:23.859 --> 00:29:26.759 experience and intense public fame. into actual 00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:28.859 institutional influence. She managed to bridge 00:29:28.859 --> 00:29:31.740 Hollywood, high level diplomacy, global health, 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:34.400 using her fame to push for things like the Violence 00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:36.259 Against Women Act, establishing international 00:29:36.259 --> 00:29:38.819 protocols with PSVI. Right. When you think about 00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:40.559 her total impact, you have to look beyond just 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:42.299 the box office grosses, right? You look at those 00:29:42.299 --> 00:29:44.859 tangible societal shifts. The Angelina effect 00:29:44.859 --> 00:29:48.160 is the clearest example. One person's very personal 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:51.240 health choice communicated openly directly impacts 00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:53.420 public health knowledge and access to medical 00:29:53.420 --> 00:29:56.480 care on a global scale. Gets thousands of women 00:29:56.480 --> 00:29:59.650 potentially lifesaving testing. That scale of 00:29:59.650 --> 00:30:02.009 influence, it really does raise a big, maybe 00:30:02.009 --> 00:30:03.970 provocative question for anyone listening and 00:30:03.970 --> 00:30:06.369 thinking about this. If one person's choices 00:30:06.369 --> 00:30:09.490 can demonstrably change medical access, even 00:30:09.490 --> 00:30:11.950 contribute to international law. It forces you 00:30:11.950 --> 00:30:13.990 to ask, doesn't it, what responsibility comes 00:30:13.990 --> 00:30:16.690 with that kind of unparalleled global platform? 00:30:16.990 --> 00:30:19.170 And maybe more practically, how can other influential 00:30:19.170 --> 00:30:21.309 people leverage their own platforms, not just 00:30:21.309 --> 00:30:24.349 for general awareness or fundraising, but for 00:30:24.349 --> 00:30:26.690 the kind of specific, measurable, institutional 00:30:26.690 --> 00:30:30.009 change in society? in law that Angelina Jolie 00:30:30.009 --> 00:30:33.569 actually managed to achieve in her sort of second 00:30:33.569 --> 00:30:35.869 act. It's a real challenge to anyone with that 00:30:35.869 --> 00:30:37.990 kind of spotlight. That is definitely something 00:30:37.990 --> 00:30:40.390 deep to reflect on, the potential and maybe the 00:30:40.390 --> 00:30:43.250 responsibility of purposeful celebrity. Thank 00:30:43.250 --> 00:30:45.170 you for walking us through such a complex and 00:30:45.170 --> 00:30:47.390 fascinating life. My pleasure. It was a lot to 00:30:47.390 --> 00:30:50.069 unpack. That was The Deep Dive. We'll see you 00:30:50.069 --> 00:30:50.430 next time.