Angelina Jolie Says She Could’ve Gone a “Much Darker Way” Had She Not Wanted to “Live” for Her Children

Angelina Jolie is getting candid about the different ways motherhood has “saved” her throughout her life — starting with when she first adopted her eldest child Maddox (whom she shares with ex-husband Brad Pitt) back in 2002.

In a new cover story for Vogue, the actress opened up about how her world shifted upon welcoming her first of six children at just 26 years old. “I was 26 when I became a mother,” she told the publication. “My entire life changed. Having children saved me — and taught me to be in this world differently.”

Touching on how motherhood continues to help her today, Jolie added, “I think, recently, I would’ve gone under in a much darker way had I not wanted to live for them. They’re better than me because you want your children to be. Of course, I’m the mother, and hopefully that safe place for them and that stability. But I’m also the one that they laugh at — and I see them taking over so many different aspects of our family.”

Jolie, who also shares children Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox with Pitt, also explained the ways her children’s upbringing differed from her own while adding how she hopes each of them continue to “be their own people.” 

“My kids would roll their eyes if they were here,” Jolie said when talking about the meaning behind her tattoos. “I was quite dark when I was young. I was a punk, not the popular kid — going to thrift stores, cutting things up, burning little teeny cigarette holes into things: That was me as a teenager, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Maybe that part of me wants to push back.”

The multi-hyphenate later added, “I don’t tell the kids how to dress. Even when they were little, I just put things in front of them. Nobody has to go anywhere if they don’t want to, and if they don’t want to dress up, they don’t have to … I want them to be their own people.”