The Jolie-Pitt clan has been making a home in England for several months, and they will likely be there for many more months as Brad Pitt completes work on that film with Marion Cotillard. The tabloids would have you believe that The Villainess Leg just sits around all day, drinking wine, making Brad cry and plotting against Cotillard. But Angelina has been busy with her non-film work: she’s been focused on doing more in-depth work with her anti-sexual violence initiative, and Jolie has allegedly been considering a more comprehensive humanitarian role.
Several days ago, Us Weekly had a story about Angelina being mentored by Baroness Arminka Helic, a member of the British House of Lords and an activist for the same kinds of anti-sexual violence work Jolie has been engaged in for years. A source told Us Weekly that Jolie “is readying herself for what could be a full-time commitment with the British government… Arminka helps Angelina make decisions about her next political move. Angie considers her a mentor.”
After reading that Us Weekly story, I was prepared for Jolie’s next announcement, which came via People Magazine. Jolie, Helic and a third woman have set up a new partnership, which will be based in England.
Angelina Jolie has been expanding her humanitarian work thanks to a partnership with two British foreign policy experts, Chloe Dalton and Arminka Helic, who she first collaborated with four years ago while working on the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, to end war zone rape. Since then, the trio have set up a partnership – called Jolie Pitt Dalton Helic – to work on issues ranging from women’s rights to refugee issues, health, education, international justice, and violence against women.
“We have been officially working together for a year and are very much looking forward to continuing our joint efforts on our shared international interests,” Jolie Pitt tells PEOPLE.
Bosnian-born Helic, who was a Special Adviser to former U.K. Foreign Minister William Hague, was made nominated to the House of Lords and named a Baroness in 2014. Dalton was most recently Special Adviser to the U.K. Foreign Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Last month the three women visited the International Criminal Court in the Hague, where Helic is a member of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims.
Next up is a visit to the BBC in London on May 16 as part of a day of events to find solutions to the global refugee crisis, where Jolie Pitt will deliver the keynote speech.
For all of the accusations lodged at Angelina over the years, the one that bothers me the most is that she engages in drive-by humanitarian work. Angelina really studies the causes she aligns herself with, and she’s always been aware of the complaints, and made sure that she’s always had all of her ducks in order. It doesn’t surprise me at all that she’s steadily drifting away from film work to focus more of her time with humanitarian advocacy work. It also doesn’t surprise me that experts in the field, actual government officials across the world, all take her seriously. Also: this is Angelina’s version of “the sisterhood.” And maybe she and the Baroness don’t sit around drinking Mojitos, but I bet they consider themselves friends.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
She’s been doing this kind of advocacy for so long and with so much depth that any doubts about her dedication are coming from a place of ignorance.
I think she is the real heir to the Audrey Hepburn legacy, a woman whose charity work was a huge part of her life but largely waved away by others.
I agree completely. Angelina does remind me of Audrey Hepburn a lot in this particular way. I cannot understand how some people continue to doubt her dedication. Honestly, I feel like she is more known for and seen by her humanitarian causes than her work in film today. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she left the film industry behind entirely and dedicated herself to these causes. I’ve never been a fan of her acting or directing, but I admire her advocacy tremendously.
I don’t doubt her dedication at all. I do sometimes cringe when her more ardent fans get a bit carried away. She’s very committed and effective at what she does, but I often see fans suggesting she’d be great at such and such position when absolutely nothing would qualify her. Things like her work with refugee’s. It’s wonderful in it’s own way, but there’s a huge, huge difference in the experience and knowledge gained between drawing much needed attention with a visit, and being on the ground for years, speaking the language, being intimately involved with the community and the politics of the situation. Again, not knocking Angelina at all, she has always seemed fully aware of what roles she can fulfill. Some of her fans on the other hand, I’m not sure they even understand what the UN is or how it works. Or how large charities work, or international law, or politics. It can just be a bit frustrating to read sometimes.
@INeedAnap & michelleb:
I completely agree with you. IMO, Angelina’s work comes from a place of great depth…the multiple losses she experienced in her life and her own encounters with cancer. She has experienced suffering and this has opened her up to an awareness of others’ suffering. Per Kaiser’s write-up, I can easily see her transitioning into this work full-time. She stands in stark contrast to an unnamed-attention-seeking-female- person who is billed as a human rights activist…folks can guess who.
have her Cambodian film wrapped up yet?
i am very intrigued about it.
i hope it makes its way around my parts, although… how long does a film stay a Netflix exclusive? or international distribution is different?
I believe they finished filming in March.There were pictures of Angelina and three of the kids at the airport.
Usually after a while you can buy a DVD or Blu Ray of Netflix content.
thank you @collette and @lucy2!!
will keep an eye open for a bluray!
Lord, those tattoos are hideous.
they surely are and FFS enough with the constant black clothing. She has time to take care of her skin and her hair, surely she could an extra 10 minutes in the morning to put together an outfit that’s not black. No one is THAT busy.
If she did that,than you wouldn’t be upset. Sooo mission accomplished,Angelina.
What a silly, typical response.
Not as silly as talking about her appearance on a post discussing an anti sexual violence initiative.
@Meme: didn’t know Angelina had to dress according to your wishes…
Maybe she didn’t get the memo from meme..
For the love of gawd, please put a little blush on those pasty pale cheeks….
I admire her humanitarian work, but she will never be able to step into Audrey Hepburn’s shoes. Mighty big ones to fill!
that’s the important part you took from this article? tattoos are more noteworthy than the work she is involved in?
Someone who is superficial only looks for superficial stuff in others.
The above person can only see the tats and not the amazing work Angelina has done and is doing. It says more about them then anything else.
Agreed. So petty. But then again the writer of the comment is a bitter hater.
She really is such a role model. I miss seeing her in movies but you can really tell this is the stuff she’s the most passionate about.
I’ve often said that she always seems much more engaged when you see pics of her with refugees (or doing other humanitarian work) as opposed to the pics of her on the red carpet. I think that she sees that (the movies) as “her job” and the humanitarian work as “her passion” and that she only does the job so she can have the opportunities to pursue the passion.
A couple of years ago there were some moms talking before a school event about how sad it was that there were so few “adventurous” and “heroic” women for their daughters to look up to. I put forth that Mrs. Jolie Pitt Is both and any parent should be thrilled to have a child turn out like she has.
“But, she ruined a marriage.”
“She’s a skank.”
“Those tattoos!”
The mind reels.
She can be all of these things (minus the skank part). Women are complex beings and not one-dimensional. We’re all comprised of bad and good. I don’t get these online skirmishes about Angelina. It’s all so all or nothing.
Even Audrey Hepburn wasn’t a saint. She had affairs with Albert Finney and William Holden; the latter was married and she nearly broke up that marriage. You can still admire her for her humanitarian work knowing this. History has remembered her well, as it will AJ.
This is a gossip board about celebs and the famous, so many sided opinions will be here.
I think it’s admirable but I question why she doesn’t do more in the United States. She IS an American. I think Europeans are far more reverential towards her than American politicans are and more than a little starstruck. I think she gets off on being treated like royalty.
And she’s an “honorary” dame which means it’s not an official title and she shouldn’t be addressed as such.
American politicians have no desire to help the poor or vulnerable. They keep cutting funding and doing what they can to make the masses miserable, so I highly doubt they’d work with her.
Let’s lump ALL American politicians into one category. All those European politicians are just so caring and special and scandal free.
So that is the excuse of celebrities ignoring the US then?
If this is true then all the more reason for her to focus her advocacy on the States. Why go for “low hanging fruits” in Europe when there are such serious problems at home?
Much of her work it in support of refugees. She’s worked with the UNHCR for a long time and is the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. She’s working in the part of the world where the issues related to refugees are the most pressing at the moment.
I would characterize her work as more humanitarian than political.
Whoa mama! A whole lot of projection going on here. Let’s form a prayer circle for those poor starstruck Europeans. How dare they form working relationships with this wannabe royal. I mean look at the exemplary being work done by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Angelina could certainly learn a thing or two from them.
Brad does a lot of his charity and philanthropic work in the US, so together, I think they are covering a lot of bases.
meme
I think you will find there is a whole lot of pro-American soft diplomacy going on with the choice to work with this particular woman. Arminka Helic is one of the most prominent Atlanticist (ie pro-American) foreign policy-based politicians in the UK. Plus, Bosnian born. Plus, Muslim. If you wanted some non-governmental but pro-American soft diplomacy, you’ve got it here. This isn’t Jolie ignoring her home country; it’s Jolie helping to further its influence and interests.
Plus all the humanitarian stuff, of course.
You guys gleefully slam American at any possible opportunity for being ignorant, stupid and unable to see past our own noses. Then when an American shows an interest in the world outside the US, you essentially tell us to stay in our own lane. What do you want from us? You can’t have it both ways.
@meme – reverential? I can’t speak for everyone my side of the pond but, on the whole, I’d say we’re far more interested in what someone does rather than who someone is. And when we see commitment and genuine passion, we’re usually easily drawn to and behind that person.
Your use of the term ‘reverential’ speaks more to your begrudging feelings rather than ours. 🙂
Gasping at straws if it is not her appearance then let’s find I something to criticised in her actions as humanitarian.
I bet what she does here is preventing some of those dreadful immigrants / refugees to want to go to the Us and make American lives so much harder (sarcasm).
BTW, sorry but they do plenty in the US. Some people just like to complain. Her advocacy has always been refugees and the worse crisis is in Europe/ Middle East at the moment. She used to go to the Thai area, West Africa and Ecuador- Colombia in the past. Nothing wrong with her work. You who are complaining could probably do more in your own country instead of criticizing.
What’s that story about her being pissed of and fearing Brad would cheat with Cotillard? I though that tabloid crap stopped but apparently every time Brad has an attractive female costar they just go with the same story? I remember the same copycat story about Brad and Robin Wright boning behind Angelina’s back while they filmed Moneyball together. Poor guy should stick to co star with a bunch of guys?
Don’t forget they claimed he was cheating with the actress in WWZ.She just confirmed she will be in WWZ 2 so round 2 of the rumors will begin in 3,2,1.
I thought that one was the PA, but then all those ridiculous rumors get mixed up it’s hard to keep them straight!
Oh yeah ,you are right that was the PA .Now the tabloids will accuse him of cheating with WWZ 2 actress .lol
I know – 11 years, wedding and 6 children and these tabs still cannot let go.
The have even resorted to use old pictures and create new false scandals.
I was going to ask the same, not so much because of Brangelina but because Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet are my favorite couple in the cinema world. I would be very disappointed if they broke up because of Brad Pitt. They seem to have a great personal and professional partnership. Canet has just finished directing another movie with Marion.
Another wonderful accomplishment from Angelina.
Angelina’s sisterhood includes Marianne Pearl, Holly, Jillian Armenante, Loung Ung, Jane Goodall, Gena Rowlands, Queen Rania and the two women mentioned in this article.
Angelina has always been a woman’s woman with close longterm friendships – she just doesn’t brag/advertise it to the public nor does she use her friendships for publicity.
She’s such a dark person to me. I think I would find her very depressing to be around for a length of time. Perhaps this is her way of staying in the public eye considering her acting career is cartoons and her directing career has been unsuccessful.
So helping people is to be in a dark place? I wish more people will go to the dark place then if it helps others.
Her career is going just fine with her being committed to multiply projects both acting and directing wise.
PS: she was just voted the most admired woman in the world beating lots of other equally admirable women.
Maya that’s nice she’s a role model for you. I don’t look to a Hollywood actress as mine. That’s not a put down to you. I think she may be sincere but is also self serving as in wanting to be seen on the world stage. If some good comes of it that’s great. She appears depressing and dark to me. It’s only an opinion. I don’t think her acting or directing has been all that successssful in recent years. If she hadn’t have hooked up with Pitt would she be where she is now? Probably not.
I am sorry so we are still claiming that a woman cannot be successful with a man?
Angelina is where she is today simply because of HER talent, hard work and dedication. Nothing to do with Brad or anyone else.
I hate it when people put successful women down and claims their success is due to a man (usually their partners).
I agree she’s a complex character but she’s always been open about it. At least she’s doing something very good with her energy rather than going into substance abuse or whatever.
Angelina and Brad both do a great deal of humanitarian work in the USA. Her passion is Refugees. Just as some people spend the majority of their humanitarian time on Animals or Cancer or the Homeless. Everyone has the right to fight for the causes that are near and dear to them. and since 3 of her children are from orphanages that are in other Countries. I imagine that drives her as well. The United States sends million upon millions of dollars across the seas to assist as well. She and Brad are homeowners that pay taxes.. so she and he are supporting many people in the USA as well.
@bmore.. thanks for that list.. it is easy to research before making an assumption.
If she is still interested in directing films, I can’t see her going full time with the humanitarian work, directing is pretty time consuming. Plus aren’t they making another Maleficent? There are always “Angelina is giving up the film industry!” stories, but it looks like she’s still interested in it and splits her time between that and her aid work and has found a balance that works.
She has no talent for directing films. To offset this and save her credibility, she will dive into humanitarian work since it will serve as a good cover as to why she “had” to stop her directing.
Considering the UN is currently implicated in a worldwide corruption and sex abuse scandal of possibly catholic church proportions, I find it difficult to take seriously anyone who would advocate for victims of sexual violence on their behalf.
WOW. Some people are really missing the point huh?
I think it’s wonderful that she continues to do humanitarian work. Go Angie!
She still looks ill. I know some people on this site think that ill is an insult to their idol but for goodness sakes look at her. I’ve always believed that this woman has some demons.
I think she looks ill also. And frighteningly skinny, like Kate Middleton skinny. I don’t think her thinness comes from vanity, however – I think she is very busy and I also wonder if she suffers from all of the suffering she sees. I get the feeling she does.
A poll with some 23k people and she is the most admired etc . I think she is genuine.
ADEMINDA: idol?? Lol ok, whatever. Credibility out the window. 😂
All the nonprofit people who’ve worked with her say she’s the real deal: works hard, never diva behaviour, knows all the issues and details. Still, I’d feel better if she talked a bit about how sad it is that we live in cultures (seems to be the same around the world) where we need celebs to raise awareness of issues. And can’t deny that the St Angie thing has helped rectify her hell-raising image very much. The posters up there: she does look ill but it’s more likely because she’s had two huge ops in the last five years than just her thinness. But I’d love to invite her and her cute children over for a big, greasy homemade meal.
One of the few celebrities I honestly admire. She grew up, despite having excuses for not doing so. I mean, she’s officially the most beautiful, sexy woman in the world, yet she decided to step away from this superficial admiration and be more essence than looks. Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefanni are all aging and trying hard to look sexy, because that’s what they choose to value. Mind that none of them have Angelina’s remarkable beauty.