Angelina Jolie
A magnetic actress who transformed from Hollywood rebel to a powerful global advocate for refugees and human rights.
Born 1975 (age 51)·American actress·Birthday: June 4·Generation X
Biography
Angelina Jolie’s journey is a stark evolution from the edgy, tattooed daughter of actor Jon Voight into one of the world’s most visible activists. Her early film roles, like the sociopath in 'Girl, Interrupted,' which won her an Oscar, showcased a fierce, untamed talent. She then commanded the screen as the video game heroine Lara Croft and later as a grieving wife in 'A Mighty Heart,' demonstrating a deepening emotional range. Off-screen, her life radically shifted after filming 'Tomb Raider' in Cambodia, sparking a commitment to humanitarian work. She became a UNHCR Special Envoy, traveling to war zones and refugee camps with an intensity that matched her on-screen performances. Her public divorce from Brad Pitt and subsequent custody battle played out in a glaring media spotlight, yet she has consistently redirected focus toward her advocacy and raising her six children.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Angelina was born in 1975, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Angelina Was Born
The biggest hits of 1975
#1 Movie
Jaws
Best Picture
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
Angelina's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1975Born
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1980Started school
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1988Became a teenager
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Could drive
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
1993Could vote
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
1996Turned 21
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2005Turned 30
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 40
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 50
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 51 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lisa Rowe in 'Girl, Interrupted' (1999).
- Appointed a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) after years as a Goodwill Ambassador.
- Directed the wartime drama 'In the Land of Blood and Honey,' a film set during the Bosnian War.
- Co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative to combat war-zone rape as a tool of war.
Did You Know?
She holds pilot's licenses for both single-engine airplanes and helicopters.
She once owned a collection of venomous snakes and a pet lizard named Vladimir.
She and then-husband Brad Pitt founded the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, named for their eldest son, focused on community development in Cambodia.
She has had a long-standing interest in mortuary science and once worked as a funeral director's assistant.
““If you don't get out of the box you've been raised in, you won't understand how much bigger the world is.””
