Angelina Jolie credits late mother for parenting skills

LONDON: Angelina Jolie, 36, is one of the world's most famous actresses - but she would prefer to be known as a mother and humanitarian, reported British daily The Sun on Monday.

She and partner Brad Pitt, 47 - who have three adopted kids (from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam) and three of their own - have given around £20million to charity in recent years.

Angelina and older brother James were brought up by mum Marcheline, who died, aged 56, in 2007. Her dad, actor Jon Voight, 72, was divorced from her mother, when she was five.

Here, she talks to GARTH PEARCE about what her mum taught her.

"MY mum always made it clear that I was her friend - and that is a lesson on how to bring up my own children.

"When we talked, I felt she wanted to hear what I had to say. She enjoyed me and I feel I'm enjoying my kids.

"We play together, we dance. Even though they're all from different backgrounds, they feel like they're part of the same family. My mum was my heroine. She was a generous, warm individual, who led a very private life but walked through it with kindness and grace.

"She would spend months trying to organise my birthday parties. Or she would spend a full day trying to compose the nicest thank-you letter to somebody.

"So, sometimes, when I want to take on the world, I try to remember it is important to sit down and ask the family how they are feeling.

"One of my boyfriends lived with me at my mum's house when I was just 14. It was the smartest thing my mother could have done because, this way, we weren't hanging out in a park together.

"We lived like a married couple for two years. By the time I was 16, I wanted my freedom and wanted to focus on work.

"So I graduated from high school early and went to work. I did not date until I met Jonny (Brit actor Jonny Lee Miller, her first husband) aged 19.

"I was my mum's girlfriend. So I was able to talk to her about everything. I was drawn to acting as a little girl.

"My second name is my middle name (Angelina Jolie Voight) and it means "pretty angel" apparently. I did not want to be Voight, as an actress, because people would react to the name. Dad always used to apologise, when I was young, for the fact that articles described me as "Jon Voight's daughter".

"Any time I had a problem, Mum would ask: "What are you feeling? What are you thinking? What are you doing?" So she taught me to question myself.

"We would jokingly call her Marshmallow, instead of Marcheline, because she was the most gentle person in the world.

"But when it came to her kids, she was fierce in their protection.

"When I played Christine Collins in Changeling in 2008 I could relate to her, through my mum. She had that elegance and strength through knowing what was right. My mum was far too young to die (from cancer) but she did meet most of my kids, so I am grateful for that.

"I am so blessed to have healthy children and a great partner. We are having a wonderful time raising our kids together. There is a lot of love in our home.

"A turning point in my life came when I made Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (released in 2001), in England. It involved filming, partly, in Cambodia (from where she adopted her first son, Maddox).

"I learned that the world is bigger than I thought it was and there were more important things than a film. I did not know much about Cambodia. I did not appreciate how beautiful it was and I had never met such open-hearted people.

"That film also helped me get in to shape. I smoked a lot, drank far too much, had way too much coffee and suffered from insomnia.

"The fitness coaches on Lara Croft adjusted me. I had a certain amount of water, protein checks, vitamins, my cigarettes were taken away and I was not allowed to drink alcohol.

"As for that role, I was loud and insane. I had too much fire for everyday life, so fitted into Lara Croft's world perfectly.

"But once I became a mum, I realised it was far harder than being Lara Croft.

"I want my kids to appreciate how fortunate they are in life, compared with so many people who have nothing.

"If anybody ever tells me that I am a mother to them like my mum was to me, it will be a great compliment.