Actress, Humanitarian, Survivor – Angelina Jolie

‘Love one person, take care of them until you die. You know, raise kids. Have a good life. Be a good friend. And try to be completely who you are. And figure out what you personally love. And like go after it with everything you’ve got no matter how much it takes.” – Angelina Jolie

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Angelina Jolie has gotten a bad rap over the years, especially since becoming involved with Brad Pitt shortly after their movie, Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

You can be “Team Aniston” or “Team Jolie”, but which ever side you’re on, you’ve got to admit that Angelina is a talented actress. She has won an Academy Award, two Screen Actor Guild Awards, and three Golden Globes. She is also a selfless and wonderful humanitarian. She is recognized for her work with refugees as a Special Envoy and former Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR).

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I read in a mini-biography on her IMDb page that she saves a third of her yearly income, lives on a third of her yearly income, and then donates a third of her income.

She has won several awards, starred in several of my favorite movies, and is beautiful beyond belief. Her pouty lips, her gorgeous figure, and sexual attitude made her one of the most desirable women in the world.

Recently, Angelina shared with the world that she underwent a double mastectomy. I applaud her bravery, her courage, and her willingness to share such a private  part of her life with the world. She is such a private person and to choose to share such details about her life should not be bashed by anyone, regardless of their personal opinion about Angelina.

Angelina chose to write an Op/Ed newspaper article titled “My Medical Choice” that was published on May 14, 2013, in The New York Times. In this piece, she revealed that she had undergone a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction because she is a carrier of a “faulty” gene, BRCA1. Her doctors advised her that that gene, along with her family history of breast cancer (including her mother’s death at age 56) made it much more likely that she would have developed breast cancer (the medical estimate was that she had an 87% risk of breast cancer), so she elected to have the surgery as a preventative measure. You can read that article HERE.

She has been picked apart for (1) her relationship with her brother, James Haven; (2) her relationship with Billy Bob Thornton (remember the vials of blood their wore around their necks?); (3) her movie role selections, like A Mighty Heart and In the Land of Blood and Honey (which she wrote); and  (4) her relationship with Brad Pitt, and ultimately the “feud” between her and Jennifer Aniston.

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I applaud Angelina Jolie for making movies that entertain and that bring our attention to the lives of others. She was entertaining in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and Kung Fu Panda. She touched our hearts as Marianne Pearl in A Mighty Heart, which is about the life and death of Daniel Pearl.In Gia,  she starred as the beautiful supermodel Gia Carangi. And who can forget her role in Girl, Interrupted in which she played sociopath Lisa Rowe.

Photo Source: hollywood.com

If I were ever asked the question: “If you could have dinner with six people (dead or alive), who would they be?” — one of my dinner guests would be Angelina Jolie. I think it would be so interesting to talk with her, learn from her, laugh with her, and cry with her.

What is your favorite Angelina Jolie movie? I’d love to hear from you!

Have a great day!