Angelina Jolie
Academy Award-winning actress, filmmaker and humanitarian
Angelina Jolie is an Academy Award-winning actress, filmmaker, humanitarian, and internationally recognized advocate for human rights. Throughout her career, she has used her global platform to bring attention to some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges, including the refugee crisis, violence against women and children, and the protection of vulnerable populations.
Jolie first gained international recognition for her performances in films including Girl, Interrupted, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Changeling, and Maleficent. In addition to her celebrated acting career, she has established herself as an accomplished filmmaker, directing and producing projects that explore conflict, human rights, and the resilience of the human spirit. Her directorial credits include In the Land of Blood and Honey, Unbroken, First They Killed My Father, and Without Blood.
Jolie has dedicated more than two decades to humanitarian work, particularly advocating for refugees and displaced populations. In 2001, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a role she held until 2012, when she was named Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. During her more than 20 years with the organization, she undertook over 60 field missions, visiting refugee camps and conflict-affected communities across the world. She met with refugees, government leaders, and humanitarian organizations, advocating for the protection and rights of people forced to flee their homes. She concluded her formal role with UNHCR in 2022 to pursue a broader range of humanitarian and human rights initiatives.
Jolie is also a co-founder of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), an organization established in 2008 to provide legal representation and protection to unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States. In 2012, she co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative with then-British Foreign Secretary William Hague, a global effort to combat sexual violence in conflict and strengthen accountability for perpetrators. Her work has included advocacy for survivors, the protection of women and children, and greater international cooperation on humanitarian issues.
Her contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an honorary Oscar recognizing her humanitarian efforts, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2013. She has also received three Golden Globe Awards and been appointed an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to UK foreign policy and the campaign to end sexual violence in conflict.
Through her work in film, humanitarian advocacy, and international engagement, Jolie has emerged as one of the world’s most influential voices on human rights, refugees, global displacement, and the responsibility of individuals and institutions to address humanitarian crises.
