Angelina Jolie says she is beginning to feel like herself again after years that changed her family, career and sense of freedom.
In a new Variety interview tied to her upcoming film Couture, Jolie said her “fighting spirit” has returned after a difficult period.
“I lost it for a bit. I got kind of taken down a little bit and it’s coming back in large part thanks to my children, who are now older, and encouraging it,” Jolie told the outlet, according to People.
The remarks come after years marked by health decisions, motherhood, her long divorce from Brad Pitt and a selective return to acting.
Jolie Said Her Children Helped Bring Her Back
Jolie credited her six children with encouraging her to travel, work and reconnect with parts of herself she had not felt free to explore for years. “My kids are almost all 18, so now they want to see me traveling the world, they want me to get out and do things,” Jolie told Variety, according to People. “They know me more than anybody, and they still like me, which says a lot.”
Jolie shares Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne with Pitt. Most of the children are now adults, while twins Knox and Vivienne are 17.
She Had Pulled Back From Acting Before the Divorce
Jolie also said she had “kind of quit acting” before her split from Pitt, according to Entertainment Weekly.
She had moved toward directing and international work, but acting became more practical after the divorce began because it allowed for shorter work commitments and kept her closer to her children.
The Comments Came While Promoting Couture
Jolie’s reflections came as she promotes Couture, the Alice Winocour film in which she plays Maxine, an American film director who is diagnosed with breast cancer while in Europe for a fashion-show project.
People reported that the role carries personal weight for Jolie. Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died of ovarian and breast cancer in 2007, and Jolie revealed in 2013 that she had undergone a preventive double mastectomy after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene.
Jolie said the film has also helped her talk with her daughters about cancer risk, genetics and how medicine is changing.
“It got us into the conversation about the gene and maybe if they have it and how medicine’s changing or how we live life,” Jolie said, according to People.
Her Divorce From Pitt Still Frames the Public Conversation
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016, and the former couple reached a divorce settlement in 2024.
TMZ connected Jolie’s “fighting spirit” comment to the divorce, while Entertainment Weekly and InStyle emphasized that Jolie credited her children most directly with helping her feel more like herself again.
Jolie Is Returning to Work With More Distance
Jolie said Couture resonated with her because it is about women facing personal upheaval while continuing to live fully.
At a June 15 dinner at Atelier Jolie tied to the film, she told People that the movie shows women from different countries dealing with challenges that make them human and less alone.
Couture opens in theaters on June 26. Jolie’s latest comments put the film alongside a more personal update: her children are older, she is working again, and she says the part of herself that had gone quiet is coming back.