Angelina Jolie Wants Her Kids to Be Their "True Selves" in the Public Eye
Angelina Jolie, who covers the December 2019/January 2020 issue of Harper's BAZAAR, told us how she guides her kids while they navigate a highly scrutinized childhood as the children of two Hollywood stars.
Jolie said that, as parents, "we can’t prevent them from experiencing pain, heartache, physical pain, and loss. But we can teach them to live better through it."
Being a kid isn't easy. And being a kid whose parents are two of Hollywood's most beloved actors makes an already confusing adolescence even more difficult.
Angelina Jolie is acutely aware of the pressure her six children—Maddox, 18, Pax, 15, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 13, and Vivienne and Knox, 11—are under. For our December 2019/January 2020 issue, the actress relayed some of the advice she gives to her kids, whom she shares with ex-husband Brad Pitt.
When asked how she raises her children "in a world of social media on a public stage," Jolie responded, "Knowing our true self is a very important question for all of us. Especially a child. I think kids need to be able to say, 'Here’s who I am, and what I believe.' We can’t prevent them from experiencing pain, heartache, physical pain, and loss. But we can teach them to live better through it."
Jolie and Pitt's brood have already gotten a taste of stardom and constant media attention at a young age, from attending red carpet events with the Maleficent star, to being photographed with their famous parents during casual family outings. The couple's oldest, Maddox, made headlines for moving into college and was even asked by paparazzi about his relationship with his father.
Despite the constraints of constantly being in the spotlight, Jolie still encourages her children to "explore the world, including the world of ideas and expression, without there being limits to what they are allowed to study or know or imagine themselves doing in the future."
Later in the interview, Jolie also referenced her former husband, saying that she bases her home location on where Pitt lives for the sake of keeping her children close to their dad. "I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18," she said. "Right now I'm having to base where their father chooses to live."
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