Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's legal battle over their divorce and shared assets has gone on for several years now, despite first filing in 2016 and being declared legally single in 2019.
The 49-year-old actress and philanthropist and the 60-year-old actor both have films premiering at the latest Venice Film Festival (although will not be running into each other thanks to conflicting schedules).
Angelina stars in Maria, a biopic on legendary opera singer Maria Callas, and spoke with press at the Festival about her acting career taking a backseat to her family over the past few years.
Angelina and Brad share six children (Maddox, 23, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 16), although they've reportedly been estranged from their father, with Shiloh legally filing to drop her dad's last name.
The actress spoke about feeling like it was important to be home with her family over the last few years instead of devoting herself to her craft as much. "I've needed to be home more with my family these last years."
"And in that time, I've become maybe more grateful to have the opportunity to just be an artist and play and be among all of you, to just be in this creative world that we are all fortunate to be in some way a part of," she continued. "So I'm happy to be here, and I'm grateful."
© Getty ImagesMaria is Angelina's first film role since 2021's Eternals. Since then, she also garnered attention for acting as a producer on the Broadway production of The Outsiders (joined by Vivienne), which won the Tony Award for Best Musical earlier this year.
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She also spoke about having "relearned" things through the eyes of Maria Callas, specifically the meaning of the word "diva," often associated with the famed vocalist. "I think it's often come with a lot of negative connotations."
© Getty Images"I think I've relearned that word through Maria and I have a new relationship to it," Angelina added. "And I think it is often other people's perception of a woman that defines sometimes too much who she is, and who she was, or what she intended."
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The Oscar winner continued: "And I actually think she was one of the hardest working people, who didn't hurt anybody. I suppose it's everybody in this room that makes that definition."
© Getty ImagesMaria director Pablo Larrain spoke with Vanity Fair recently about his desire to work with Angelina, and how he convinced her to sign on after getting her to watch his previous directorial effort, Spencer.
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"This is the greatest diva of the 20th century, and who could play that?" he told the publication. "I didn't want to work with someone that didn't have that already."
© Getty Images"I needed an actress who would naturally and organically be that diva, carry that weight, be that presence. Angelina was there," he added, calling her period of preparation "very long, very particular, very difficult." Angelina trained for six months for the role, using her own vocals for the film's dramatic musical scenes.
