Angelina Jolie is ready to get out of Los Angeles when the time is right.
The Maria actress, 49, revealed her plans for leaving Tinseltown after her youngest children, 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, turn 18 in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Friday, August 30.
“I grew up in this town. I am here because I have to be here from a divorce, but as soon as they’re 18, I’ll be able to leave,” Jolie told the outlet. “When you have a big family, you want them to have privacy, peace [and] safety. I have a house now to raise my children, but sometimes this place can be … that humanity that I found across the world is not what I grew up with here.”
She added, “[After Los Angeles,] I’ll spend a lot of time in Cambodia. I’ll spend time visiting my family members wherever they may be in the world.”
In addition to Knox and Vivienne, Jolie shares sons Maddox, 23 – whom she adopted from Cambodia in 2002 – and Pax, 20, as well as daughters Zahara, 19, and Shiloh, 18, with ex Brad Pitt. The exes have been embroiled in a messy divorce since their 2016 split.
While speaking to THR, Jolie also gave a rare glimpse into balancing her family life with her working life – which sometimes means bringing them to set.
“I’ve been a parent for 23 years. The most beautiful thing about being a parent is that you are not the center of your life. So you are leaving set, focused on something for someone. That’s your real life. Your real world. And that always is the majority of who you are,” she explained. “I have never had a set where my family is not allowed to be there because I’m focusing — I’m not that person. You can climb all over me or visit.”
Jolie went on to detail how it “meant a lot” that sons Maddox and Pax worked on her new movie Maria with her. The biopic, directed by Pablo Larraín, follows the final days of renowned opera singer Maria Callas. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 29 and is set to hit Netflix at a later date.
“When I would have really heavy times, they would come over and just give me a hug or a cup of tea. That was probably one of the more intense things was that — usually when I’m expressing that much pain, it’s not in front of my children,” she said. “You really try to hide from your children how much pain and sadness you carry. And so for them to be with you when you’re expressing it at such a level, I think it was the first time they ever heard me cry like that. That’s usually for the shower.”
It’s no secret that Jolie and Pitt’s contentious divorce has affected their kids. On her 18th birthday in May, Shiloh filed a petition to drop “Pitt” from her hyphenated last name. Her request was granted in August, Us Weekly confirmed.
“Brad was devastated by this choice,” a source exclusively told Us in June. “To him, it was more than a change of name — it was a symbol of a deeper estrangement that has been brewing for years.”
Shiloh isn’t the only one to drop the actor’s last name. In November, Zahara introduced herself as Zahara Marley Jolie at a sorority initiation ceremony at Spelman College, and in May, Vivienne was credited as Vivienne Jolie in the playbill for the Broadway musical The Outsiders, which she coproduced with her mom.
“Sadly, Brad doesn’t have much of a relationship with his kids,” a second source told Us. “He’s not ready to give up on them, but knowing they are dropping his name is upsetting.”
A third source added, “They’ve struggled to forgive and connect with Brad since the divorce. Their mom is the head of the household, and she’s raised them with love and selflessness their whole lives. Once Brad left, it was very hard for them to see him go to war with her.”
