Angelina Jolie Opens Up About How She Wants a Simple Life and to Leave Hollywood Behind

Angelina Jolie got candid in an interview, in which she poured her heart out about various topics of her life. From her disdain of Hollywood to how she wants to live once her court encounters with Brad Pitt are over, the actress didn’t hold back.

She hasn’t been the same since her divorce with Brad Pitt.

Angelina Jolie’s last seven years have been marked by negotiations and court proceedings related to custody and property matters, a by-product of her divorce with Brad Pitt. During this time, Jolie put her career to the side and focused mainly on being at home, prioritizing her family over work.

As such, the world has gotten to see Jolie a lot less. Her filmography has seen a significant slowdown, with only five film appearances compared to her previously consistent pace of multiple premieres per year. In fact, she last graced a red carpet in 2021 for the promotion of the Marvel movie Eternals, in which she starred. Her more private lifestyle hides a dark truth about her love for acting though.

She regrets having become an actress.

In her interview with The Wall Street Journal, Jolie revealed that if she were just starting her acting career now, she would be discouraged by the pressure for actors to constantly share details about their lives. More than that, she’s certain she would steer completely away from acting. But she explained things were different then, as when she took her first steps in the entertainment industry there was less emphasis on being public.

Her need to stay away from the spotlight is well noticeable from her social media presence. Unlike many fellow actors who share a lot about their personal lives on platforms like Instagram, Jolie doesn’t follow that trend. Instead, when she’s on social media, she mostly highlights her humanitarian work.

Even her latest business endeavor, launched in November, 2023, diverges from the typical celebrity brand. Rather than a traditional beauty brand with her image on promotional materials, Jolie has ventured into sustainable fashion with Atelier Jolie, where she displays the names of both tailors and customers on tags alongside the brand name.

She wants to move away from Hollywood as soon as possible, and her upbringing is part of why.

The 48-year-old also reflected on her childhood and how being raised around Hollywood has a strong impact on her decision’s today. Even though she’s the daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, she has never been impressed by the showbiz environment. In actuality, she acknowledges how shallow and unhealthy of a place it is.

However, it was precisely where she grew up that led her on a search for authenticity and motivated her to explore other places around the world, where she can be involved in social causes. In the intimate conversation, Jolie made it clear she wants to move to her home in Cambodia (the country she adopted her eldest son Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt from) as soon as she’s free from her legal battle with ex Brad Pitt.

In Los Angeles, she doesn’t have much of a social life. Upon looking back on her close friends, she realized that the majority of them are refugees, with “four out of six women” she’s close to coming from refugee backgrounds.

Her need to search for a simpler life began early on in her career.

Early fame was “crushing” for Jolie, particularly as it hit her while her mother was battling cancer. She claims it led her to serious mental health issues, including depression. Seeking a way out from her problems, she turned to traveling as a coping mechanism and ended up paying field visits to refugee camps in several countries across Africa and Asia. It kickstarted her humanitarian work.

By 2023, she finds the authenticity and connection she was looking for all along in people who have experienced hardship. She appreciates their honesty, and emphasized that those who have confronted challenges bring forth not just strength but a profound sense of humanity.

Despite everything, she’s still deeply connected to her art albeit mostly far from featuring on the big screens. As examples, she finished her fifth directorial effort, Without Blood, a film starring Salma Hayek Pinault and Demián Bichir that she also wrote; and she produced The Outsiders, a Broadway show set to open in April, 2024.

Angelina Jolie doesn’t hold much back in interviews, if the right question is being asked. In another interview, Jolie revealed the thought-provoking reason why daughter Zahara struggles to find clothing.