At 25, Angelina Joli Voight has a pragmatic, wise-beyond-her-years demeanor.
This may, in part, be due to the fact that she grew up in a show business
family. Her father is the Oscar winning actor, Jon Voight. Her mother
is former actress Archeline Bertrand who now manages Angelina's career.
To avoid comparisons with her fathers acting legacy, Angelina dropped
his last name to use her middle name in it's place.
She explains "I love my father, but I am not him." Joli grew up in Los
Angeles, and later trained and performed at the Lee Strasbergt Theatre
Institute, where she appeared in several stage productions. She also worked
as a professional model in London, New York and Los Angeles, and has appeared
in music videos for such artists as Meat Loaf, Lenny Kravitz, Antonello
Venditti, and The Lemonheads.
She landed her first starring role in "Hackers," where she met and married
co-star John Lee Miller (the marriage didn't last). She went on to turn
heads in "Foxfire," an otherwise forgettable movie which served mainly
to showcase her eye-popping nudity. It was in "Gia: The Tragic Story of
a Supermodel" that Joli found herself being garnered with deserved recognition.
She won a Golden Globe for her performance in the HBO docu-drama.
Her roles have been anything but ordinary. She seems to attract roles
that deal with the female psyche. Joli says "I usually try to look for
something I haven't done before, a side of me that I haven't completely
explored. There's a truth in acting, and there is a very real part of
me that can understand that or can believe in that or can see the beauty
of that or see the ugliness in that and the statement that needs to me
made. So it's kind of all me." She has gained critical acclaim in her
roles in "Pushing Tin," and "The Bone Collector." However, her most intriguing
role to date has been in "Girl Interrupted" co-starring Wynona Rider.
Joli has once again served up a profound performance that has earned
her a Golden Globe award for best supporting actress and an Oscar nomination
in the same category. Angelina is readily becoming the poster girl for
21st century film. She is Daring, intense, passionate and innovative.
She has emerged as the symbol of a new generation of strong willed, intelligent
women.