Though she made her screen debut as a child alongside her father
Jon Voight in the 1982 film
Lookin' to Get Out, Jolie's acting career began in earnest a decade later with the low-budget production
Cyborg 2 (1993). Her first leading role in a major film was in
Hackers (1995). She starred in the critically acclaimed biographical films
George Wallace (1997) and
Gia (1998), and won an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama
Girl, Interrupted (1999). Jolie achieved international fame as a result of her portrayal of video game heroine
Lara Croft in
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and since then has established herself as one of the best-known and highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.
[2] She has had her biggest commercial successes with the action-comedy
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) and the animated film
Kung Fu Panda (2008).
[3]Divorced from actors
Jonny Lee Miller and
Billy Bob Thornton, Jolie currently lives with actor
Brad Pitt, in a relationship that has attracted worldwide media attention.
[4] Jolie and Pitt have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, as well as three biological children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne. Jolie has promoted humanitarian causes throughout the world, and is noted for her work with refugees through
UNHCR.