Girl Crush Pt. IV

It's been a while, but it's time for another episode of

GIRL CRUSH 

this edition featuring

Angelina Jolie

"The truth is, I love being alive, and I love feeling free. So if I can't have those things then I feel like a caged animal, and I'd rather not be in a cage. I'd rather be dead."

It's been some time since I paid homage to a famous lady who inspired my worldview and helped shaped my sense of self (since last July for anyone who's keeping track), but I felt that with all the recent discussion of everyday misogyny, rape culture, and feminism and the incredible #YesAllWomen movement, it was time to revive 'The Case for the Girl Crush'. Who better to discuss than today's birthday babe Angelina Jolie who has made a name for herself as an award winning actress, director, screenwriter, and humanitarian. 

"If I think about death more than some people, it is probably because I love life more than they do."

Angelina first came onto my radar in the early 2000s when I saw her powerhouse performances in the films The Bone Collector, Gone in 60 Seconds, and Girl, Interrupted, the latter of which won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her magnetic screen presence fascinated me as she demonstrated the ability to be confident, tough, and vulnerable often in the same scene, and her cool off-screen persona was both mysterious and self-deprecating as she baited tabloids with outspoken quotes about her unapologetic sexuality and attraction to violence. Though the media attempted to brand her as a nothing more than a pair of pillowy lips and rail-thin arms, her eccentric film choices - which ranged from high-octane action movies to thoughtful dramas to fantasy epics - revealed there was so much more to the enigmatic beauty.

"If you ask people what they've always wanted to do, most people haven't done it. That breaks my heart."

Aside from being a woman who combines elements of my other girl crushes - the glamour of Marilyn Monroe, a bad-ass edge (and more tattoos than Brody Dalle), remarkable talent, outspoken feminism - Angie is also a woman of conviction who takes action towards righting global injustice and informing others about causes close to her heart. She became a UN Goodwill Ambassador in 2001, going on field missions in over thirty countries, and she has worked as an advocate for women's and children's rights and preventing sexual violence in conflict zones, all on top of her day job as one of Hollywood's most successful actresses and her personal life as a mother of six. To top it off she has also served as a voice for the LGBT community by openly discussing her bisexuality, and she is one of few celebrities to take an active stance on genetic testing for terminal illness as she underwent a double mastectomy after learning she had an almost 90% chance of developing breast cancer. 

"If I make a fool of myself, who cares? I'm not frightened by anyone's perception of me."

Though over the years she has been lambasted in the media as mentally unstable, physically unhealthy, a homewrecker, a child trafficker, and other unpleasant titles, Angelina maintains her elegance and poise with seeming effortlessness, never backing down from a challenge or compromising her beliefs. While her incredible beauty hasn't hurt in the development of my crush, mostly it is due to her intelligence, talent, compassion, drive, confidence, and outspoken nature that Angelina Jolie has been an inspiring figure in my life.

"I've been wreckless, but I'm not a rebel without a cause."

It seems we could all do with being a bit more like Angelina.

CURRENTLY READING: The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor, another inspiring woman.