Angelina Jolie says she was 'unable to leave her home' after a difficult 'few years'
She needed to prioritise her family
Angelina Jolie channelled parts of her own life to portray Maria Callas in new film Maria.
In a recent conversation with iMDb, the actress was asked if she could relate to the opera star's inability to perform in the latter part of her life, which led her to lead a reclusive existence.
"In some way — I went through a few years where I was unable to leave my home as much," Angelina explained.
"I needed to be more with my family. You had to turn off certain aspects of yourself to be other things you need to be, at times. So I was reminded of how much being a creative person and having the connection to other creatives fed so much of my life and how important it was, and how much I missed it."
Still, the star feels there's a key difference between her and the legendary opera singer: "But I think I've built a life very full separate from being an artist, and she wasn't able to," Angelina added. "So if it was all gone tomorrow and I was just a mom and I was just working in the field, I would be very happy."
Angelina is proud mum to six children: Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16.
She has slowed down her acting career over the last few years, instead choosing to prioritise her family before everything.
This period has proven difficult, as she first filed for divorce from her husband and the children's father Brad Pitt in 2016. After years of court battles, the divorce was finalised at last in December 2024.
At the time, a lawyer for Angelina told People: "More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt. She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family.
"This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over."
Maria is in cinemas now.
