After being one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses in the ’90s and ’00s, Angelina Jolie rarely appears onscreen anymore. Since 2010, she’s starred in just eight live-action films and only four since 2015. EW reports (via Vogue) that the actress explained her career pivot at the launch of her new fashion line Atelier Jolie.
In an interview to help the launch of her environmentally conscious fashion line, Jolie said that she’s used clothing as an alternative way to work out her complicated feelings after a personally difficult past decade. “Sometimes the way you dress says, ‘Don’t mess with me — I’ve got my armor on.’ But I want a woman to feel safe enough that she can be soft,” Jolie explained about her clothing line. “After I went through something where I was hurt, I had a therapist ask if I would try wearing a flowing garment. Sounds silly, but I assumed that pants and boots projected a ‘tougher’ look, a stronger me. But was I strong enough to be soft? At the time, no. I felt vulnerable. Now I wonder if I don’t know what my style is because I’m still understanding who I am at 48. I guess I’m in transition as a person.”
Along with saying that she feels “a bit down these days,” the actress added, “I don’t feel like I’ve been myself for a decade, in a way. Which I don’t want to get into.” Jolie’s comments refer to her high-profile separation from ex-husband Brad Pitt. Since their split, Jolie has focused less on on-screen performances in her film career on more on voicework and directing. She also admitted to Vogue that she consciously pulled back from Hollywood-related projects in 2017, “only taking jobs that didn’t require long shoots” because “she had a lot of healing to do.” Recent onscreen performances for Jolie include Taylor Sheridan‘s “Those Who Wish Me Dead” and Chloé Zhao‘s “Eternals.”
But Jolie thinks her new fashion line is an appropriate outlet for her at the moment. “We’re still finding our footing,” she said about Atelier Jolie. “I think part of it has also been therapeutic for me — to work in a creative space with people you trust and to rediscover yourself. I’m hoping to change many aspects of my life. And this is the forward-facing one.” But Jolie still has a couple of toes in show business. She’s still at work on her next directorial outing, “Without Blood,” and she’ll also work with her daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt producing a musical adaptation of “The Outsider” for the stage. No word on when “Without Blood” will premiere, but expect it sometime in 2024.
