Angelina Jolie ‘Is Ready for Her Next Chapter’ — Away From Hollywood

During a press conference for her new movie, Couture, at the San Sebastián Film Festival in Spain on 
September 21, Angelina Jolie was asked to weigh in on how she currently feels about being an artist in America. (The inquiry was a timely one: late-night host Jimmy Kimmel had been temporarily suspended the week prior for comments he made on his show about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.) “It is a very difficult question,” said Jolie, who took a long pause before continuing thoughtfully. “I love my country, but at this time, I don’t recognize my country.”

Jolie has been toying with leaving the United States for some time. Back in 2019, the Oscar winner told Harper’s Bazaar she was living in L.A. only because her children needed to be close to their father, Brad Pitt. (Jolie and Pitt, who split in 2016, share Maddox, 24, Pax, 21, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, and 17-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.) “I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18,” she said. Now, insiders tell Us Weekly she’s making good on that promise with plans to move after the twins’ birthday in July.

It will be a new beginning for the Maria actress, 50, following her dragged-out, eight-year divorce from Pitt. “You can really feel a shift in Angelina recently; she’s lighter and more at ease,” says a source. “She’ll always love L.A., but she feels it has served its purpose. She’s ready for her next chapter.” Adds a second source: “She’s very excited for this next phase of her life.”

Jolie has strong ties to nations all over the world. The second source says she’ll likely be partially based in Cambodia, where she still owns a property (she adopted Maddox from the Southeast Asian country in 2002), and will also spend time in France (Knox and Vivienne were born in Nice) and Africa (Zahara is from Ethiopia; Shiloh was born in Namibia). “They’re all very special places,” shares the second source. “She has dear friends in all of [those areas] who she considers confidantes and family.” (Jolie said as much at the September Couture Q&A, telling reporters: “I’ve always lived internationally, my family is international, my friends, my life.”) “Angelina thrives when she’s outside of Hollywood,” adds the first source. “She loves being in cultures that inspire her.”

Angelina Jolie Through the Years: From Movie Vixen to Mom of 6

Jolie is currently in London, where she’s filming the Netflix movie Anxious People. (Maddox is working as an assistant director on the upcoming crime comedy — a departure from the drama-and-action roles she’s best known for!) She also plans to direct and produce films overseas. “Angelina will be back and forth to L.A. for work but won’t call L.A. her home,” explains the second source, noting that Jolie hopes to list her $24.5 million Los Feliz mansion next September. “She’s ready to dive deeper into directing and producing,” says a third source. (She’s directed four films, including 2014’s Unbroken and 2017’s First They Killed My Father, and has produced projects like Couture and Maleficent.)

Her humanitarian work will be front and center. Jolie was a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR (The U.N. Refugee Agency) from 2001 to 2012, then served as a special envoy from 2012 to 2022. “She plans on giving back to communities in Cambodia, Vietnam and Africa, and she’s open to exploring more of the world and raising awareness and continuing her work with the U.N.,” the second source shares. “She’s looking forward to being around like-minded people.”

She won’t stray too far from her children. “The kids will most likely keep roots in L.A. for their careers, but they will spend time with Angelina wherever she ends up as well,” says the first source. “The children are all very creative and take after their parents [in that] they love all aspects of filmmaking and the arts.”

The kids are still figuring out their paths. Maddox (who, like his mom, has a pilot’s license) has been working with Jolie on her film projects. (“He has a passion for directing and acting,” says the second source.) Shiloh is a dancer and Zahara is a senior at Spelman College. The second source says Pax is interested in launching a fashion line; the third source notes he’s also into photography. Vivienne — who was credited as a producer’s assistant for her work on Broadway’s The Outsiders (Jolie was the lead producer) — is looking to study theater. In July, Knox won a Muay Thai competition in L.A. “Angelina’s children are a really big force that will lead her [depending on] their interests and where they choose to live,” says the second source. “She knows she’s going to be very busy keeping up with them after she leaves L.A.”

Motherhood remains her No. 1 priority. “She’s very immersed in her kids and in their interests right now,” says the second source, noting that Jolie takes after her own mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who died in 2007. “Angelina’s mom invested so much in her, and Angie’s doing the same for all of her children.” (The source says all the kids are currently estranged from Pitt. “Brad did have the closest bond with the twins, but they do not talk at all.”) Adds the third source: “All the kids are thriving. That’s Angelina’s greatest achievement. Nothing makes her happier.”

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Ups and Downs Through the Years

Sources say Jolie seems more like her old self lately. “She feels like her life is coming full circle [to who she was] pre-Brad,” says the second source. “She spent so much time devoted to her passions, including humanitarian work and flying, and while she was married to Brad, a lot of that stopped. She was raising her family, and Brad wanted her to cut back on flying. Now, her freedom allows her to connect with her true self again.”

Her acrimonious split from Pitt took a toll. (They finalized their divorce in December 2024 following years of legal battles. In court documents, Jolie accused Pitt of being emotionally and physically abusive; in a 2023 Vogue cover story, she said she and the kids “had a lot of healing to do,” adding that she didn’t feel like herself “for a decade.”) Says the first source: “Angelina is in a much better place. She’s not dwelling on the past or carrying any baggage, and has worked through a lot of the trauma over the years by doing healing work [and] a lot of therapy. There’s a joy about her that people haven’t seen in years.” The third source says Jolie “[used to be] more sullen and emotional” but is now feeling “more grounded and inspired than ever,” adding, “it’s exhilarating [for her] to find this unburdened joy after years of trials and tribulations.”

Photos of Angelina Jolie With Her 6 Kids Through the Years

Jolie’s inner circle is small and includes a few famous faces like Gwen Stefani, Salma Hayek Pinault and her ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton. The second source says she and Stefani — who became close in 2004 — “talk and text a few times a month” and see each other several times a year. (Jolie’s kids and Stefani’s older sons, Kingston, 19, Zuma, 17, “grew up together and remain close.”) Jolie and Hayek Pinault clicked while filming 2021’s The Eternals. “Salma has really been there for Angelina during her divorce,” says the source. Thornton also helped Jolie through her split from Pitt. “Billy Bob and Angelina talk on the phone quite a bit. He’s very protective over her.”

She’s been on a few dates in recent years, but romance isn’t her main focus. “People try to set Angelina up all the time, but she has a lot on her plate right now,” says the first source, adding that she has “no interest” in dating a celeb. The second source notes that things were never romantic between Jolie and The Weeknd, whom she was spotted with in 2021 — “[Their relationship] is business-related, they have shared philanthropic interests,” explains the source — nor did she ever rekindle things with first husband Jonny Lee Miller. “They’re very good friends and always will be.”

The second source notes that while marriage may not be a priority, the actress will never say no to love. “If she meets someone along the way that she wholeheartedly connects with, someone who understands her, she’ll be open to [a relationship].” The third source adds: “She has been through so much. For now, she’s just focusing on her career and her kids. She’s found herself again, and it feels good.”

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