The actor, now 48, shot to fame on her own merit in her early 20s after starring in Girl, Interrupted, and has been in the spotlight ever since.
But she already had ties to Hollywood as the daughter of Jon Voight and the late Marcheline Bertrand.
In light of her fame, not only has Jolie’s professional work been dissected, but so has her personal life.
The Eternals star has been married three times, all to fellow celebrities; Jonny Lee Miller, Billy Bob Thornton and Brad Pitt.
Pitt and Jolie started dating back in 2005, but didn’t marry until nearly a decade later.
Their marriage was short lived, however, and the pair split two years later.
They’ve been embroiled in divorce proceedings ever since.
In the wake of her private light being no-so private, Jolie admitted that she probably wouldn’t be an actor now if she were to choose.
Angelina Jolie plans on leaving Hollywood. Credits: Gotham/GC Images
“I wouldn’t be an actress today,” she admitted to the Wall Street Journal.
“When I was starting out, it wasn’t as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much.
In light of her lengthly divorce proceedings with Pitt, Jolie hasn’t had much freedom to travel, she claims.
The mum-of-six now hopes to eventually leave Los Angeles.
She told the publication: “It’s part of what happened after my divorce. I lost the ability to live and travel as freely. I will move when I can.”
Jolie added she’d like to spend more time at her home in Cambodia.
Elsewhere in the interview, the star said Hollywood is ‘not a healthy place’, labelling it as ‘shallow’.
The magazine also made note of the lack of films Jolie has done in recent years, which she has previously implied could be down to the fact that she ‘feels a bit down these days’.
Jolie alleged that her ongoing divorce stopped her travelling freely. Credits: Samir Hussein/WireImage
“I don’t feel like I’ve been myself for a decade, in a way. Which I don’t want to get into,” she told Vogue earlier this year.
While she declined to go into further detail, Jolie admitted that becoming a mother had changed her life for the better.
She adopted her first son, Maddox, from Cambodia when she was just 26.
Jolie also shares Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15, with ex-husband Pitt.
“My entire life changed,” Jolie reflected.
“Having children saved me – and taught me to be in this world differently.”
Jolie’s next acting projects are Kung Fu Panda 4 and the biopic Maria, where she stars as opera singer Maria Callas.