Angelina Jolie talks strong women, war crimes and the White House...
The prospect of being America’s first female president surely isn’t that unrealistic for Dame Angelina Jolie, but the actress and philanthropist has denied that her sights are set on the White House.
‘I don’t think my family would agree,’ she said in a new interview for Marie Claire France. ‘And I don’t know how I could be more useful than now because my position as a public figure helps so much in generating media attention for my fight.’
The UN Special Envoy, who was promoted from her role as Goodwill Ambassador in 2012, acknowledged, however, that while she helped William Hague to draw a huge amount of media attention to the Summit To End Sexual Violence in London earlier this year, the event could have still been successful without her backing.
‘I do not know if it's because of me. There had already been a promise to take stronger action against wartime rape at the last G8 summit. Many countries have made it one of their priority commitments. We must work together - legislators, politicians, doctors, investigators - to enable immediate prosecution against those guilty of war crimes.’
Throughout the interview, Angelina speaks of strong and empowering women and gave an interesting insight into her own mother’s character, Marcheline Bertrand, who died after a long battle with ovarian cancer in 2007.
‘She was very soft but could move mountains for her kids. That's something I always admire in women: that mix of softness and strength.’
‘She always tried to understand the complexity of the world and had a great heart, which was sensitive to the world's violence.’
‘I feel in contact with my mother when I look at my children. I can feel her influence over me then. I see that my way of raising them resembles the way she raised my brother and I.’
‘It's more apparent with my daughters Shiloh and Vivienne. Therefore, yes, my mother is there, present in this influence, all the time.’