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Angelina Jolie Opens Up About Raising Her and Brad Pitt’s Kids
From Maddox’s adoption story to Pax’s creative pursuits, Angelina shares rare insights into her children’s lives and their shared journey.
Angelina Jolie has always kept her personal life relatively private, but in a recent rare comment, she shared touching insights about her children with Brad Pitt. After appearing alongside her son Knox at the Governors Awards earlier this month, the actress and humanitarian revealed why her kids have largely stayed out of the public eye. Her reflections shed light on their unique upbringings and how they’ve grown into remarkable individuals while navigating their unusual circumstances.
Jolie’s journey into motherhood began during her time in Cambodia while filming Tomb Raider in 2001. It was there that she visited an orphanage in Battambang, searching for her first child. She admitted that she didn’t initially feel a connection with any of the children—until she saw Maddox, born on Aug. 5, 2001, lying in a box suspended from the ceiling. Instantly overwhelmed with emotion, she recalled, “I cried and cried.” At the time, Jolie adopted Maddox as a single mother, but when she began her relationship with Brad Pitt, he also adopted Maddox as his own.
Maddox later joined his mother in her work, stepping into a significant role as executive producer for her 2017 film First They Killed My Father, based on Loung Ung’s book about the Cambodian genocide. Reflecting on the experience, Maddox told People, “I was trying to help wherever I could.” He praised his mom’s leadership, describing her as “fun, funny, and easy to work with.” In addition to his creative pursuits, Maddox went on to study biochemistry at Yonsei University in South Korea, a decision Jolie said she “could not be happier about.” In 2023, he attended a state dinner at the White House with his mother, where they joined President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in hosting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Pax, born on Nov. 29, 2003, had a very different beginning. He spent the first three-and-a-half years of his life in a Vietnamese orphanage, sharing a small room with 20 other children. Jolie has described his early years as challenging, noting, “He had no freedom, no choice.” But once he joined their family, Pax embraced his newfound freedom and adjusted quickly to life with his siblings, including Maddox and sisters Zahara and Shiloh. “He’s wild and free because he suddenly has freedom,” Jolie said of his transformation. “What a tough, remarkable little person.”
Like his older brother, Pax has taken an interest in the arts. He lent his voice to a character in Jolie’s animated film Kung Fu Panda 3 and worked as a set photographer on First They Killed My Father. More recently, he joined the assistant director department on Jolie’s upcoming film, Without Blood. Pax has also helped decorate Atelier Jolie, the creative fashion collective and alteration studio his mother launched in New York City. Speaking about working with both Maddox and Pax, Jolie said, “When a film crew is at its best, it feels like a big family, so it felt natural.”
Through her rare comments, Angelina Jolie offers a heartfelt glimpse into the lives of her children, highlighting their individual journeys and the deep bond they share as a family. From Maddox’s passion for global causes to Pax’s artistic ventures, the Jolie-Pitt children have grown into resilient and creative young adults. While they continue to forge their own paths, they remain grounded in the values instilled by their mother—a testament to the love and care that defines their family.
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