Angelina Jolie has had a remarkable acting career that’s spanned over four decades. Her best performances have shown the Oscar winner’s ability to fit into any role she takes on, whether it’s Jackie Collins determined to find her missing son in Changeling, a tough no-nonsense action heroine like Lara Croft, or an aging opera singer in the 2024 Netflix movie Maria. As for how her nepo babies feel about taking on Hollywood fame like her, Jolie got real, saying “That’s not my doing.”
The Girl, Interrupted actress first made her big screen debut as a child sharing the screen with her famous parent Jon Voight in Lookin’ to Get Out. But Angelina Jolie’s true film career didn’t start until a decade later in the sci-fi action movie Cyborg 2, followed by her first lead role in 1995’s Hackers. As the nepo baby controversy is still alive and well whenever children take their famous parent’s footsteps, don’t expect Jolie’s children to be involved in that debate. At the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (via DailyMail), the actress/director gets real on how her children feel about fame:
They really don’t like any of the celebrity part of it, especially Shiloh hates it. I think in a very healthy way they don’t … It’s not a normal thing. It’s a silly thing really.
It’s clear that fame and the Hollywood spotlight aren’t for everyone. Angelina Jolie’s children have made screen debuts in her and her ex-husband Brad Pitt’s movies in the past. For instance, then-toddler Shiloh starred alongside her dad in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and had a few lines in her mother’s animated movie Kung Fu Panda 3. However, Shiloh turned down the chance to be in Jolie’s Maleficent. Ultimately, her younger sister Vivienne shared the screen with her celebrity parent as a younger Aurora, along with her siblings Maddox and Zahara making cameos.
Angelina Jolie’s six children have grown up in the film industry environment thanks to their famous parents. However, the Salt actress was honest about not taking the credit for her kids not sharing the same “affinity” for movies as her:
I don’t know, that’s not my doing. I always wanted them to be around film because I wanted them to know as a part of — it’s such a wonderful family, to be creative, to be an artist, to be… They’re not interested.
Even though Angelina Jolie’s kids don’t feel the same way about being in movies as their mother does, the Mr. and Mrs. Smith actress says they still love the arts, like dancing, painting and theater. It appears the nepo babies would prefer to have more behind-the-scenes roles in the arts compared to taking on any acting. For instance, Jolie’s oldest sons, Maddox and Pax, did assistant director work in their mother’s movie Maria. And you can’t forget that the Wanted actress winning her first Tony Award as a co-producer for Broadway’s The Outsiders was a team effort working alongside Vivienne, who was an assistant on the production.
Shiloh has been busy being an “exceptionally talented” dancer as a member of Millennium Dance Complex for years. Her longtime choreographer, Keelan Carter, says the 18-year-old does let the “nepo baby” debate affect her as she uses her “dedication and hard work” to achieve her goals.
Angelina Jolie’s children want no place in Hollywood fame or onscreen roles like their mother. However, we can still expect to see them shape up the arts industry in behind-the-scenes roles that help shine a spotlight on the challenging yet rewarding creative process of productions. You can watch Jolie’s latest Oscar-worthy performance in Maria, available on your Netflix subscription.