Angelina Jolie Says ‘Having Kids Saved Me’ & Insists ‘They’re Better Than Me’

Angelina Jolie is reflecting on motherhood in a new interview for Vogue's digital cover.

Jolie adopted her son Maddox, now 22, as a single mom in 2002, before growing her brood with ex-husband Brad Pitt. She’s now mom to not only Maddox, but also Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17 and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15.

She told the magazine, “I was 26 when I became a mother… My entire life changed. Having children saved me — and taught me to be in this world differently.”

Angelina and Brad split in 2016, and a contentious divorce followed.

Possibly referencing the breakup, Jolie told Vogue of her kids, “I think, recently, I would’ve gone under in a much darker way had I not wanted to live for them. They’re better than me, because you want your children to be. Of course, I’m the mother, and hopefully that safe place for them and that stability. But I’m also the one that they laugh at — and I see them taking over so many different aspects of our family.”

Angelina is in the process of opening Atelier Jolie, which the magazine describes as “a somewhat broadly defined effort to bring her globally minded, socially conscious values to the world of fashion.”

Speaking of fashion, Jolie shared, “I don’t tell the kids how to dress. Even when they were little, I just put things in front of them.”

She added of public appearances, “Nobody has to go anywhere if they don’t want to, and if they don’t want to dress up, they don’t have to.”

Jolie recalled bringing the kids to the “Eternals” premiere in 2021 and how excited they were to choose their red-carpet looks.

She even gave them access to her closet! Shiloh chose a Gabriela Hearst dress and had it tailored to knee-length. Zahara picked Jolie’s stunning Elie Saab gown from the 2014 Oscars.

Angelina added, “I went vintage-shopping with a few of them as well — I think Knox was wearing all vintage. The cut was quite unusual, quite cool, I thought. I want them to be their own people.”

Jolie has opened up to “Extra” about motherhood in the past as well, and at the “Eternals” junket she spoke about becoming a mom.

“I became a mother in my 20s… Something happened to Mad[dox] when he was little; it was an injury… and I was terrified, and I heard myself say, ‘It’s gonna be fine, it’s gonna be fine, it’s gonna be okay’… And I realized I had become the person that was always going to make everything okay… not the person that worries, that’s dramatic, that’s upset that I have spent my whole life being in that darker space… That happens in a minute.”

When asked about letting kids be individuals who make their own mistakes, Angie commented, “I love it… I love the crazy, individual, rebellious. I love it.”