Angelina Jolie Filmography

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After a slow start that included a role in the preposterous, guilty-pleasure Hackers (1996), Jolie found widespread fame with the drama Gia (1998, based on the life of tragic supermodel Gia Carangi). She followed up with the commercially successful Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Wanted, and earned critical acclaim for her work in the dramas A Mighty Heart and Changeling.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

After her starring debut in the preposterous ’90s guilty pleasure Hackers, Jolie found critical and commercial success with 1998’s Gia, a biopic of a tragic ’70s fashion model. Jolie’s ability to emote through her character’s tumultuous life and eventual death established her as a true star.

In Tomb Raider, Jolie brings Lara Croft to life as a beautiful and brainy archaeologist on the hunt for ancient artifacts. She nailed the pseudo-intellectualism and acrobatic gunplay of the video game heroine, earning an Academy Award nomination in the process.

The following decade brought more box office hits, including the action crowd-pleaser Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and the epic adventure Alexander. She also made her directorial and writing debut with the Bosnian-language In the Land of Blood and Honey, followed by Salt and the retelling of Sleeping Beauty villain Maleficent.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

After early work in a number of small films, Jolie gained wide recognition for her role as Gia Carangi in the HBO movie Gia (1998), which recounted the rise and death of the troubled supermodel. She received a Golden Globe and Emmy nomination for her performance. She starred alongside her then-husband Brad Pitt in the action film Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), and played a woman seeking revenge in the drama Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021). Jolie also lent her voice to the animated film Kung Fu Panda (2008).

After a flop in Pushing Tin (1999), she starred as a sociopathic mental patient in Girl, Interrupted (1999) and won her first Academy Award. She made her directorial debut with the Bosnian-language In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011), and subsequently helmed the war dramas Unbroken (2014) and First They Killed My Father (2017).

Wanted (2008)

After gaining notice for small films like the preposterous Hackers (1995) and Foxfire (1996), Jolie found critical acclaim in 1998’s Gia (HBO). Based on the tragic life of ’70s supermodel Gia Carangi, the movie portrays her as both a sensitive wild child and brazen diva. Her electrifying performance earned her an Oscar award and launched her into stardom.

Her starring turn as video game heroine Lara Croft in the blockbuster films of the same name established her as an action star. She followed with critically acclaimed roles in the dramas A Mighty Heart and Changeling and the fantasy film Maleficent (2014). She has also directed the drama In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011) and lent her voice to the animation sequel Kung Fu Panda 2. Families can talk about why violent entertainment appeals to so many people and how Jolie balances her public work as a U.N. goodwill ambassador with her professional work in such violent movies.

Salt (2010)

Angelina Jolie is a powerhouse actress who has starred in a variety of action-thrillers and blockbusters. Her flixtor filmography includes classics like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and the acclaimed drama Girl, Interrupted. She also portrayed Maleficent in the live-action version of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.

In this contemporary espionage thriller, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is an agent with the CIA’s Russian desk who finds herself on the run after a defector accuses her of being a sleeper spy. As she tries to clear her name, she must use all of her skills and training in military/covert disciplines to remain one step ahead of her pursuers.

Critics say that Jolie gives her all in the title role and her seasoned performance is almost enough to save the movie from its predictable and ludicrous plot. However, families may find it difficult to sit through the movie’s intense violence and overwrought action sequences.

In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)

Before her film career took off, Jolie acted in stage productions and appeared in a handful of music videos. She studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and briefly tried her hand as a model.

After appearing in the preposterous ’90s guilty pleasure Hackers, she garnered critical acclaim for her performance as Gia Carangi, a ’70s supermodel who struggled with drug addiction and died of AIDS at age 26. The movie won her a Golden Globe award.

She would go on to star in the Lara Croft blockbuster movies, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Wanted and Salt. She also voiced a character in DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda and portrayed the monster Grendel’s mother in Beowulf. In addition, Jolie produced and starred in Maleficent (2014), a revisionist take on Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.

Unbroken (2014)

Using impeccably crafted craftsmanship and sober restraint, Jolie and ace cinematographer Roger Deakins evoke the drama of World War II bomber pilot Louie Zamperini in Unbroken. Based on Laura Hillenbrand’s non-fiction book, the film stars Jack O’Connell as Zamperini, who survived 47 days lost at sea and more than two years in Japanese prisoner of war camps.

After a string of small films, Jolie got big notices for her work as a sociopathic mental patient in Girl, Interrupted (1999). She earned an Academy Award nomination for playing Christine Collins, a woman whose son went missing, in Clint Eastwood’s Changeling (2008).

Jolie made her directorial debut with In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011), a Bosnian-set love story. She followed it with the World War II drama Unbroken (2014).

First They Killed My Father (2017)

In the early ’90s Jolie earned notice for her work in Hackers, but found much more success as an actress with the biographical cable films George Wallace and Gia. She also received an Oscar nomination for her turn as a mother who discovers her adopted son is an imposter in Clint Eastwood’s Changeling (2008).

In 2010 she starred in the box office hits Salt and The Tourist, then took on the role of Disney’s Maleficent in the 2014 live-action adaptation. In the same year she debuted as a director with her directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, which looked at a marriage damaged by the Bosnian War.

First They Killed My Father, her latest film, finds Jolie again chronicling the atrocities of war. Despite some jumpy impressionism and a tendency toward documentary plainness, this is another accomplished film in which Jolie proves her versatility as an actress and director.

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