Angelina Jolie has not only been a strong advocate for the rights of people, especially children, across the globe, but also for ecological and conservation issues.
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In a new interview with Madame Figaro magazine, she opened up about making such choices at home with the six kids she shares with ex-husband Brad Pitt, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne.
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She also opened up about spending part of her year in Cambodia, where she is also a citizen, and the experience of that, especially given that her oldest child, 20-year-old Maddox, was adopted from the country.
"My heart is attached to several countries, and above all to those of birth and heritage of my children," she confessed. "But I must say that Cambodia was the first country with which I established a very strong bond.
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"I lived there, and got to really know its people. Moreover, it was there that I became aware of the problem of refugees."
© Photo: Getty ImagesMaddox is an integral part of Angelina's bond with Cambodia
She continued: "When I first visited Cambodia in 2000, I knew nothing about the country, and I was struck by the extent of my shortcomings.
"All this was very far from what I had been taught in my American youth, to see it was both an upgrade and a questioning. I love the people of Cambodia with all my heart. And it was my son Maddox, my eldest, who made me a mother."
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She also spoke of raising her children with an ecological mindset, explaining: "As for my own children, I try not to be that kind of mother who harps on why it's important to think about the environment.
"I prefer that they make up their own mind as they grow up, by immersing them in varied environments, by encouraging them to make friends from different cultures, in short, to live and feel the most emotions and possible experiences.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe actress is a doting mom to her six kids
"I believe that understanding, respect and openness towards others have become almost organic notions for them."
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