Angelina Jolie Advocacy
Angelina Jolie is a multi-talented actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian who has made a significant impact in both the entertainment industry and the world at large. Born on June 4, 1975, in Los Angeles, California, Jolie began her acting career in the 1990s and quickly rose to prominence with her captivating performances.
Jolie's early acting credits include the films "Hackers" (1995) and "Gia" (1998), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She continued to earn critical acclaim for her work in films such as "Girl, Interrupted" (1999), "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (2005), and "Changeling" (2008), among others. In 2014, Jolie made her directorial debut with the film "Unbroken," which was based on the true story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.
Jolie has a lot in common with the video game heroine she portrays alongside
Daniel Craig, and despite being known as the face of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider franchise, takes a different approach to social anthropology.
A Chance for Life with Meaning
Films aside, every fan of the video game series is familiar with the illustrious Croft Manor, which hosted its own single-player mode from the first installment in 1996 to later titles like
Anniversary,
Underworld, and
Shadow of the Tomb Raider. But how did the Croft dynasty come to afford a multi-story estate complete with a garden and combat training area?
I know, I know. Finders keepers. After all, it was Lara and her father taking on the liability of sourcing the ancient artifacts, so who's to say they can't keep them in their home as artwork as opposed to donating the pieces or their proceeds to museums in the name of education and public research?
We don't have to go there, except to say that at least Angelina Jolie makes an effort to acknowledge her privilege (and 130 million net worth) by platforming humanitarian issues abroad. But her status as a nepo baby is unrefutable, as she even starred alongside her father Jon Voight in his role as Lord Croft.
Angelina Jolie is somewhat of a shapeshifter in the collective conscience of Hollywood, with a reputation ranging from bad-ass seductress to patron saint.
Know Your Rights
In addition to her successful acting and directing career, Angelina Jolie is also known for her advocacy work as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since 2001 and has traveled to over 20 countries to raise awareness about the plight of refugees and displaced people. In 2012, Jolie was appointed as a Special Envoy to the UNHCR, and she continues to use her platform to advocate for human rights issues.
Jolie has also been a vocal advocate for human rights in conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Iran and is an outspoken advocate for women's issues. In 2013, she co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative with the British government, which aims to increase awareness and accountability for sexual violence in war zones.
In recent years, Jolie has continued to use her platform to promote humanitarian causes. She has been a vocal advocate for the rights of women and children and has worked to raise awareness about the global refugee crisis. In 2017, she gave a powerful speech at the United Nations, calling on world leaders to do more to address the refugee crisis.
In June 2023, the actress took to Instagram with a comment on an immigration disaster in Greece, where over 80 refugees lost their lives when their fishing rig sank:
"The focus should be on why, in the first place, refugees and other people on the move are unable to be home and what could be done to stabilize trade and relations so they can thrive and live at home. When we don't back human rights laws, when the west interferes in ways that disrupt their lives and profit from their resources, when we feed off their poverty by buying up their land... all of this is part of the injustice and tragedy that leads to people living their lives in this way."
Jolie has long been a champion of LGBTQ visibility for her roles in
Girl, Interrupted and
Gia. She's since taken the time to highlight the displacement of LGBTQ individuals across the globe.
Overall, Angelina Jolie's career and advocacy work have made a significant impact on both the entertainment industry and the world at large. She has used her talent and platform to raise awareness about important issues and has worked tirelessly to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
