CULTURE

Angelina Jolie Would Like To Leave America

But there’s something—or someone, rather—stopping her.


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Angelina Jolie would like to live anywhere but the United States.

At least, that’s what the actress and global philanthropist said in her December cover interview with Harper’s Bazaar. The interview covers a lot of ground—why Jolie decided to become a Cambodian citizen, what her style was like in high school and her early 20’s (she was very into punk, naturally), and her advocacy work for women surviving domestic violence across the globe. In typical Jolie fashion, she also waxed poetic about the importance of traveling the globe and seeing places she’s never seen before to open her eyes to new ideas.

As many people now know, Jolie recently bought a property in Cambodia and became a citizen of the country. However, the actress does not live there full time. Her interview with Harper’s Bazaar reveals that while the family has vacated temporarily, some local creatures have taken up residency in their stead. “We got a call the other day informing us that chipmunks have moved into the house. They asked if we should remove them, and Vivienne was very clear that we needed to cover the wires and let them stay,” Jolie explained. “However, the local snakes may have their own opinion on that. The last time I stayed there, I heard screaming down the hall because a friend had found a giant lizard under their pillow. Clearly, the animals are there more than I am and they feel it is their home.”

In the meantime, however, Jolie and five of her kids (her eldest is away at college in South Korea) have been staying in the United States, and though the actress would prefer to live elsewhere, she did reveal that there is something—or someone, rather—stopping her: her ex-husband, Brad Pitt. “I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18,” she told the magazine. “Right now I’m having to base where their father chooses to live.”

Pitt is based in Los Angeles, and though Jolie has brought her children to live in other countries temporarily, she remains permanently based in America, for now. At nine years old, her youngest children—twins Vivienne and Knox Jolie-Pitt—won’t be 18 for another nine years, so Jolie will have to wait nearly a decade before she can move out of the country permanently. But that shouldn’t be too tough for Jolie, as she still has many spots around the globe she has plans to visit and live in at least temporarily. “My favorite place is somewhere I’ve never been. I like to be dropped into the middle of something new,” she said. “I enjoy being out of my element. I want the children to grow up in the world—not just learning about it but living it and having friends around the world. Next year we break ground on a home in Africa.”

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