Content warning: the following article mentions self-harm, suicidal ideation, addiction, and sexual assault.
Angelina Jolie has endless claims to fame.
Jolie began her rise to fame in 1995 when she starred in “Hackers.”
Jolie traveled to Cambodia in 2000 to film “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.”
Since then, the actor has dedicated copious time and resources to philanthropy.
With such an elite resume, one might assume that everything Jolie touches turns to gold.
But in reality, the A-lister has endured plenty of heartbreak and trauma.
As the daughter of Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight, Jolie was born into Hollywood royalty.
Throughout her childhood, the starlet made several red carpet appearances alongside her dad.
But despite her charmed upbringing, she always felt like an outsider, even among her closest kin.
As a child, Jolie struggled with depression and identity issues.
“I didn’t appreciate or understand my life.”
As she got older, Jolie felt increasingly empty and unfulfilled.
In 1997, the actor earned a Golden Globe for her role in “George Wallace.”
Two years later, she delivered an Oscar-winning performance in “Girl, Interrupted.”
However, despite all of the fanfare and accolades, Jolie continued feeling depressed, lonely, and uninspired.
At one point, her anguish became too much to bear and the actor turned to self-harm.
In 1996, Jolie married her first husband, actor Jonny Lee Miller.
However, the romance did little to dull her pain.
For Jolie, true fulfillment came in 2002 when she adopted her son Maddox Jolie-Pitt from Cambodia.
For the first time in her life, the actor felt a deep sense of purpose.
When Jolie was about a year old, Voight had an extramarital affair and walked out on the family.
For the next few decades,Jolie had a strained relationship with her dad.
“After her divorce, we had financial troubles,” Jolie revealed to Parade in 2010.
“We never owned a home.
We moved from small apartments to even smaller ones.”
In the following years, Jolie maintained a tumultuous off-and-on-again relationship with her dad.
Then, in 2017, the pair reunited once more.
Speaking with theHollywood Reporter, Jolie declared that this time, their reconciliation was for good.
But despite being a fully-fledged It-girl, the actor had a tendency to flub her public image.
During her early years, Jolie gave several salacious interviews and was known for oversharing.
Jolie’s antics garnered a heap of bad press.
After Jolie adopted her son, Maddox, she was devastated when the tabloids began questioning her parenting skills.
“People wonder aloud about whether I am an okay mother.
That is obviously painful because it’s so important to me,” she toldCosmopolitanin 2003.
Meyer alleged that Jolie had been addicted to cocaine and heroin.
He also shared a video of the actor looking gaunt and behaving strangely while talking on the phone.
According to Meyer, the video had been recorded while Jolie was under the influence in 1999.
“I was feeling emptier than ever,” the actor recalled.
“I was scared of going out like Gia.”
Shortly after filming “Gia,” Jolie decided to end her life.
Speaking withThe Facein 2003, the star revealed that she hired a hitman to kill her.
However, in an unexpected twist, the hitman convinced Jolie not to follow through with her plan.
Looking back, the A-lister credits her children for giving her the strength to keep going.
“I was 26 when I became a mother,” she toldVogue.
“My entire life changed.
Having children saved me and taught me to be in this world differently.
The actor described her mother as a strong, creative woman who encouraged Jolie to stay true to herself.
Tragically, Bertrand died from ovarian cancer in 2007, and Jolie was completely shattered by the loss.
“When I look back to that time, I can see how much her death changed me.
It was not sudden, but so much shifted inside.”
The actor also spoke about how Bertrand’s legacy lived on through Jolie’s relationship with her own children.
“She was a girl who danced all night on the Sunset Strip and loved rock ‘n’ roll.
The allegations sent Hollywood into crisis mode and sparked a national conversation about sexual abuse.
Two years later, he was found guilty of an additional rape charge.
Weinstein’s crimes altered the lives of numerous women, many of whom were young and aspiring actors.
Among them was Angelina Jolie, who had an unsettling encounter with the movie producer at age 21.
“The truth is that the attempt and the experience of the attempt is an assault.”
I stayed away and warned people about him.”
Jolie admitted to the Guardian that Pitt’s decision left her feeling betrayed.
“We fought about it,” she stated.
“Of course it hurt.”
As shocking as their split was, fans were even more astonished to learn why Jolie called it quits.
Pitt was also accused of choking Maddox during the incident.
As of August 2024, Jolie and Pitt have refrained from commenting on the events of the ill-fated flight.
They’re not healing from divorce.
They’re healing from some … from life, from things in life.”
Jolie then immediately left him" (viaPeople).
“I’ve had PTSD.”
Sadly, Jolie’s mental health took another hit after her separation from Brad Pitt in 2016.
Speaking withVoguein 2024, Jolie admitted that she’d been pushed to her breaking point.
“I feel a bit down these days,” the actor confessed.
In 2017, Jolie was stricken with Bell’s Palsy, a neurological condition that causes temporary facial paralysis.
As a result, the actor lost muscle control over half of her face.
After their separation, Jolie and Pitt entered a bitter custody battle that raged on for several years.
