How Angelina Jolie Became Famous

Angelina Jolie, born June 4^th, 1975, first appeared onscreen with her father, Jon Voight. Lookin’ to Get Out premiered in 1982, but Jolie wouldn’t return to the silver screen until 1993.

Although she was consistently booking roles, Jolie didn’t receive critical acclaim until 1997 for her performance in George Wallace. She won a Golden Globe Award for her work and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

Angelina Jolie is best known for her role as:

• Kate in Hackers (1995)
• Cornelia Wallace in George Wallace (1997)
• Gia Carangi in Gia (1998)
• Lisa in Girl, Interrupted (1999)
• Laura Croft in Laura Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
• Lola in Shark Tale (2004)
• Jane Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
• Tigress in Kung Fu Panda (2008)
• Evelyn Salt in Salt (2010)
• Maleficent in Maleficent (2014)
• Thena in Eternals (2021)

Pop culture connoisseurs are torn on whether it was Angelina Jolie’s work in Girl, Interrupted or Lara Croft: Tomb Raider that cemented her legacy of success.

How Brad Pitt Became Famous

Brad Pitt, born December 18^th, 1963, was 24 when his acting career began in 1987. From uncredited parts to guest starring in soap operas, Pitt’s ascension to stardom was gradual. He was no stranger to the silver screen either, but it wasn’t until 1994 that Pitt began booking films consistently.

His earlier work, such as Interview with the Vampire and Fight Club, failed to achieve universal critical acclaim. However, those films were widely loved by the public and have since become cult classics.

Brad and Angelina Timeline

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt met in the early 2000s while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston at the time, while Jolie had recently separated from her ex-husband Billy Bob Thorton.

Since the movie began filming in 2003, rumors swirled of an on-set affair between Pitt and Jolie. The public took Jennifer Aniston’s split from Brad Pitt in 2005 as confirmation of the alleged affair. However, both Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston deny the rumors to this day.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie began dating shortly after his separation from Aniston was announced. Jolie’s child, Maddox, took a quick liking to Pitt. Later that year, Sky News reports, Jolie “travelled to Ethiopia to meet [and adopt] Zahara with Maddox – and her new partner Pitt.”

In 2006, the couple welcomed their first biological child, Shiloh. In 2007, Pitt became the adoptive father of Zahara and Maddox. That same year, Jolie and Pitt adopted another child as well, named Pax.

Brad and Angelina Chateau Miraval

In 2008, the couple welcomed twins Knox and Vivienne. They also “signed a three-year lease on Chateau Miraval, a huge 800-acre estate in the south of France.”

Brad and Angelina Winery

According to Sky News, “the couple [officially] bought the property and launched their wine business, Miraval Wines,” in 2012. They also got engaged that year. Jolie and Pitt didn’t get married until 2014, though.

Brad and Angelina Divorce Judgement

After two years of marriage, Angelina Jolie filed for divorce, “citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.” The public was reeling after learning that she “requested sole custody of their six children but no child or spousal support.”

Jolie and Pitt kept their legal woes under wraps and gave the media little to no detail. Years passed before the two were declared legally single. However, their battle was far from over. When pronouncing Jolie and Pitt single in 2019, the judge also ruled that “they’d need to settle their custody and financial disputes separately.”

Brad and Angelina Marriage Ending Argument

In 2016, Brad Pitt allegedly got into an altercation with his family. The FBI and Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) were sent to investigate “allegations of physical abuse involving Pitt and his children that stemmed from an incident… aboard a private plane carrying Pitt, Jolie and their children.”

It’s important to note, though, that Brad Pitt was never arrested or charged.

What Happened with Brad and Angelina on the Plane?

The public knew very little about the plane incident- that is, until August 2022. CNN spilled the tea after receiving “a heavily redacted FBI report” from a trusted source.

According to the report, “Jolie alleged that Pitt “grabbed her by her head,” “grabbed her by the shoulders,” shook her, pushed her into the plane’s bathroom wall and was yelling profanities at her… Pitt [also] allegedly lunged toward one of their children, resulting in Jolie suffering a physical injury after she tried to intervene.”

Two months later, amid a legal battle over the couple’s winery, Jolie expanded upon her previous allegations. In court documents, “Jolie alleged that Pitt “choked one of the children and struck another in the face” during the incident.”

Later, in April 2024, Angelina Jolie claimed “in another legal filing from the winery case that Pitt’s “history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family’s September 2016 plane trip.”

Brad and Angelina lawsuit

The lawsuit over Chateau Miraval wages on to this very day! The battle first began, though, “in February 2022, when Pitt sued Jolie and her former company, Nouvel LLC… over… the “unlawful” sale of her stake in Miraval…”

According to Pitt, the couple agreed neither would sell without the other’s consent. Jolie claims “there was never any such agreement.”

In a countersuit filed by Nouvel LLC later that year, it’s alleged that Jolie first tried to sell her share of the winery to Pitt. However, “the deal fell apart over a provision in a non-disclosure agreement “designed to prohibit Jolie from publicly speaking about the events that had led to the breakdown of their marriage.”

Jolie’s attorneys submitted a January 2021 email from their client as an exhibit. In which, Jolie informed Pitt that “she no longer wanted to be involved with a business “based on alcohol, when alcoholic behavior harmed our family so deeply.”

Pitt Pleads for Jolie’s Private Messages

Page Six reports that Brad Pitt is demanding access to Angelina Jolie’s private messages! In June 2025, “ahead of the former couple’s trial,” Pitt requested “the court to compel Alexei Oliynik of Stoli Group to release his communications with [Jolie] and sit for a deposition.”

Pitt alleges that Oliynik refuses to confer with him due to the fact that “foreign nationals [from Switzerland] cannot be made to travel to California for deposition.” Pitt’s attorneys question the relevance of that authority, given that they’ve asked for a “remote deposition to occur in Oliynik’s country of residence.”

The new filing alleges “Oliynik was “acting at the direction of his boss, Stoli chief Yuri Shefler” as the “key operative” behind the purchase…” Pitt’s team goes on to explain how this makes Oliynik “unquestionably one of this lawsuit’s most important witnesses.”

Jolie Demands $33K From Pitt for Legal Fees

In response to Pitt’s request for Jolie’s “private messages about their château dispute,” the actress reveals her financial difficulties in new court documents.

According to Page Six, Jolie left Pitt “control (and full residency) of [their] family homes in Los Angeles and at Miraval, without compensation…” Jolie hoped that doing so would “make him calmer in his dealings with [her]…”

Immediately after, she “began to look for a new house… initially renting a home while looking for a more stable solution.” Jolie also took two years off work so she “could focus [her] attention on caring for [their] children and their recovery.” With no alimony or child support coming in, funds quickly grew scarce. Jolie explains how “her savings were “tied up in Miraval,” … so she needed the funds from the château.”

Jolie’s attorneys reveal that she repeatedly asked Pitt, through counsel, to withdraw his latest request. She even informed him “that if the Court denied [his] motion, [she] would ask the Court to order Pitt to pay [her] attorneys’ fees opposing the motion.”

Pitt refused, so, in October, Jolie requested “that the Court order [him] to reimburse her for the substantial attorneys’ fees she was forced to incur.”

The judge has yet to make a decision.