She’s been talking about retiring from Hollywood for a while, and now Angelina Jolie is making good on her promise to quit the business – and plans to relocate to the UK to become a special advisor to the government!
Having stepped behind the camera in recent years in the hope of winning critical acclaim, Ange’s most recent directorial effort, First They Killed My Father, was snubbed for a recent Oscar. And if her waning popularity wasn’t enough of a blow to the ego, she’s still reeling from the fallout of her nasty divorce from Brad Pitt – and the fact that everyone who’s anyone seems to be on his side…
‘I never expect to be the one that everybody understands or likes,’ Ange acknowledged late last year. ‘And that’s okay, because I know who I am, and the kids know who I am.
‘They really help me so much… They’re the best friends I’ve ever had.’
Indeed, throughout the bitter custody battle with Brad, Ange, 42, has always maintained that their six kids – Maddox, 16, Pax, 14, Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 11, and twins Knox and Vivienne, nine – are her top priority. And now that they’re all used to being home-schooled – and are being taught by their separate tutors in subjects from languages to physics – Ange is moving full- speed ahead with her long-held dream of living a political life in London.
She’s spending up big to make it happen. According to insiders, Ange is eyeing up an 18th- century, seven-bedroom property worth a whopping $34 million.
But while the estate boasts standout features like a wine cellar and a media room, it’s all about location, location, location for Ange. The new mansion is just minutes away from the Houses of Parliament in St James’s Park, where residents are influential. Very important people – such as ambassadors and members of parliament – are just the crowd an aspiring politician like Ange would be keen to mingle with.
Conveniently, she’ll also be close to her two good friends, Arminka Helic and Chloe Dalton, who were hailed ‘the witches’ for advising Ange on not just her international humanitarian work, but also her private life – and more specifically, convincing her to end her marriage to Brad.
‘The three are in cahoots together and it’s Brad who loses out,’ a Jolie-Pitt staffer said shortly after their split in late 2016, while another pal added: ‘I think their end goal is to support Angelina and they don’t pay enough regard to the impact it will have on Brad’s life.’
As well as being firmly on Team Jolie, Arminka, 49, and Chloe, 37, are exactly the kind of well-connected people who can help Ange make her political dream happen. As former aides to ex-British foreign secretary William Hague – who Ange has also worked closely with – Arminka and Chloe have joined her in championing women’s rights causes around the globe, and she’s said to have already asked them whether the UK conservative government can find her an honorary position.
Having supported the UK’s global sexual violence initiative, Ange has already got William’s backing to pursue politics on a wider scale.
‘Angelina has done so much. She is very, very knowledgeable about this,’ William says.
With her eldest daughters Zahara and Shiloh by her side, Ange sure was in full political mode as she visited a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan last week. Holding the hands of refugees and kissing young children as she walked around the Zaatari camp, the actress made an impassioned speech that called for ‘a viable political settlement’ to end the suffering for Syrian families.
‘Humanitarian aid is not a long-term solution,’ Ange said. And if all goes to plan, soon enough, Ange will be the one to spearhead that political change – with the help of Arminka and Chloe, of course.
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea – out now!
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