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Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt and Knox Jolie-Pitt attend the European premiere of "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" at Odeon IMAX Waterloo on October 09, 2019 in London, England.© Getty Images

Angelina Jolie admits her kids are so different from her and Brad Pitt — here's why

The Maria actress shares six kids with her ex-husband, who she says are 'especially shy'

Beatriz Colon
Beatriz Colon - New York
New York WriterNew York
November 4, 2024
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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's children may have practically been born in the spotlight, but don't necessarily expect them to follow in their parents footsteps.

The Maria actress and humanitarian was with the Bullet Train actor from 2005 until 2016, and together they share kids Maddox, 23, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 16.

But despite their parents' legacies in Hollywood, and though some have expressed an interest in working in the industry, the Oscar winner has maintained that they aren't such fans of the spotlight after all.

WATCH: Angelina Jolie opens up about children & personal transition

Speaking with E! News at the AFI premiere of her new film Maria in Los Angeles about whether any of the six would be following in their parents' footsteps, Angelina revealed: "No, I think they're especially shy, very private people," and emphasized: "They want to be private."

Of the former couple's kids, though they are all largely private, Shiloh and Know are maybe the most to keep away from the public eye.

Maddox and Pax have both expressed an interest in working in the film industry, and have worked on some of their mother's projects, while their sister Zahara is currently busy as a student at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and most recently, Vivienne spent some months working with her mom on the Tony-winning musical adaptation of The Outsiders.

Pax Thien Jolie, Angelina Jolie, Zahara Marley Jolie, and Maddox Chivan Jolie attend the "Maria" Premiere - 62nd New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall on September 29, 2024 in New York City© Joy Malone
Pax, Maddox and Zahara recently supported their mom at the premiere of Maria

For their work on the musical, Vivienne made a slew of public appearances with her mom, and Angelina in turn has opened up about how transformative the experience was.

MORE: Angelina Jolie's sons comfort her through 'big' emotional moment: 'I was very lucky'

MORE: Angelina Jolie enters new stage with 'uniquely different' six kids

Speaking with Deadline in June, and recalling when she and Vivienne first saw the show last year, she said: "Really, as a mother, as a person, I was watching it, but I was really watching the effect it was having on my young daughter and what she was telling me about herself, and I was learning what about it was important to her and why it connected so deeply to her."

angelina jolie and daughter vivienne the outsiders opening night© Getty
Vivienne also recently stepped into the spotlight for The Outsiders

"It was a very different experience of understanding," she noted. "How this is having a significant effect on her as a young person right now, and she's communicating something to me, and that is the power of this material, which was in really good shape even by then."

MORE: Angelina Jolie admits to 'loneliness' in latest interview

Pax seen sporting visible scars on his forehead and an arm cast discreetly hidden beneath his black suit jacket© Robin Marchant
The actress and her son Pax at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year

"And then I had the privilege of watching everyone work over this last year to make it into what it is, and Vivienne has been there the whole way."

MORE: Angelina Jolie rocks figure-hugging liquid gold dress and tumbling curls

Angelina Jolie and her daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt arrive at THE 77TH ANNUAL TONY AWARDS, live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, Sunday, June 16© Getty
Angelina and Vivienne at the Tony Awards

Also asked what about a book from the 60s and a movie from the 80s resonated with Vivienne, who was born in 2008, Angelina shared that though "it's hard to speak for her, because she's a complex young woman," she thinks that the material is "very deep, and it's honest, and it doesn't shy away from real feelings and real discussion and real pain."

She added: "I think maybe every person that watches it might identify slightly more with one character or another, right, but what I think you see through it all is there is pain in life, right?"

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