How well do you know ‘The Suicide Squad’ actress Margot Robbie?

There’s no denying that Australia churns out more than its fair share of A-list actresses. From the chameleonic charm of Cate Blanchett to the ephemeral elegance of Nicole Kidman, screen sirens from Down Under have found wider fame in Hollywood. Headlining among a new generation of Australian talent to make their mark on the red carpet of Tinseltown is Queensland-born Margot Robbie.

Having her start in showbiz with a three-year stint as Donna Freedman in the long-running Aussie soap, Neighbours – a show that catapulted other eventual stars like Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth to Hollywood – Robbie hit the big leagues with such blockbusters as The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Suicide Squad (2016) and I, Tonya (2017), for which she picked up an Oscar nomination. On her welcome return to the silver screen in a familiar role as DC Extended Universe supervillain Harley Quinn, we delve into some lesser-known facts about this talented thespian.

Father from her Mind
Until roughly five years ago, all that was known about Margot Robbie’s father publicly was that he was a ‘former farm-owner’. It wasn’t until 2016 that Aussie magazine New Idea revealed his true identity: sugarcane tycoon Doug Robbie. Perhaps this oversight was deliberate on the actress’s part; after all, he abandoned her and three siblings when she was still a toddler. The two remain estranged to this day – it was her mother who walked her down the aisle when she wed British film producer Tom Ackerley – and when asked in an interview about the qualities she’d inherited from her dad, she fired back, “None. Nothing. I’m not like him at all.”

Margot the Maggot
Despite her status as a gorgeous Hollywood star today, Margot Robbie’s childhood classmates notoriously christened her “Maggot”, a nickname that stuck for years. Recalling this uncomfortable moniker, she has lamented, “‘Maggot’ started when I was five, in Grade One, and I detested it. By the time I was eight, I realised it wasn’t going anywhere so I embraced it, but when I moved to Melbourne [to begin acting], people started calling me it and I hadn’t even told them it was my nickname!”

Slap in the Face
Playing the character of Naomi Lapaglia, wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Belfort, in The Wolf of Wall Street is undeniably the role that got Robbie noticed. But her method of landing the part was unusual, to say the least. It was her unscripted slapping of the Titanic leading man in an argument scene while auditioning that wowed director Martin Scorsese and landed her the role. Recalling her momentous decision, she said: “In my head I was like, ‘You have literally 30 seconds left in this room and if you don’t do something impressive nothing will ever come of it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance, just take it.’”

No More Nudity
For that same role, Robbie – who until this point had maintained a sweet, girl-next-door image – performed a sex scene atop a pile of money that required full-frontal nudity. But appearing in the buff was so uncomfortable for her that she even lied to her parents about the graphic scenes. In order to avoid any awkward embarrassment, she convinced them that CGI had been used to fit her head to another actor’s body. It’s no surprise, then, that when Hugh Hefner reached out to her to appear nude on Playboy for a substantial amount of money, she turned him down. Interestingly, the scene led to ‘a million paper cuts’, with the star quipping afterwards: “If anyone is ever planning to have sex on top of a pile of cash: don’t.”

Trapeze Act
Whereas many young girls enjoy learning to dance, sing or play a musical instrument, fearless young Margot bucked the trend with a rather unusual passion – trapezing. At the age of just eight, she was enrolled by her mother in a circus school where she received a ‘trapeze certificate’. However, her love of acrobatics was soon replaced with an inclination towards acting. Years later, she began to have recurring dreams of flying through the air under the Big Top. “I couldn’t stop thinking about that stupid dream,” she recalled. “I feel like I missed my calling.” It was this sense of incompleteness that would eventually push Robbie to return to trapeze classes.

Drunk Tattooing
In addition to being a bona-fide trapeze artist, Robbie has also dabbled in tattooing. In fact, she even inked her Suicide Squad co-star Cara Delevingne and writer-director David Ayer. However, during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she revealed that she’d given up the hobby after drunkenly tattooing a friend during a bachelorette party. “She walked down the aisle as one of the maids of honour in a backless dress and had this red, raw, scabbing tattoo and her mum was filthy with me … she was so angry and I thought, I really shouldn’t do this anymore,” laughed Robbie.

Suicide Stunts
In a serendipitous coincidence, the actress’s circus skills would come in handy when she landed her now-iconic role as Harley Quinn. Always a competitive spirit, though, she took things even further by performing many of her own stunts when filming Suicide Squad, including an intense fight scene which required her to hold her breath for minutes on end. Ultimately, her record was a staggering five minutes, though only one minute’s worth was actually used in the final cut. Recalling the intense physical acting by one of his leads, Ayer commented: “She has ridiculous depth, and she’s never been coddled, so she’s very physically courageous. The things she was doing herself as stunts, you wouldn’t believe. There’s only a handful of actors who do that sort of work themselves.”

Quinn-tessential Mismatch
Interestingly, despite the role having cemented her status as one of Hollywood’s major players, Robbie was not enamoured with the character of Harley Quinn, particularly her psychopathic personality. “I thought, I have nothing in common with her. I hate her,” she later said. “It was a really tricky one to get my head around.” Thankfully, she bit the bullet and accepted the part. Not only did this lead to Suicide Squad raking in nearly US$750 million at the box office, it spawned a 2020 spin-off, Birds of Prey, focusing solely on Quinn. Building on this commercial success, she’s reprised the role for a third time in yet another standalone sequel – rather unimaginatively titled The Suicide Squad – which premiered last month. Clearly, regardless of whether she’s overcome her Harley ambivalence or not, Margot Robbie knows which side her bread is buttered on…

(Text: Tenzing Thondup)

First Asian superhero in a Marvel movie: Simu Liu as ‘Shang-Chi’

The tide is rising in the Marvel multiverse, and there’s never been a more appropriate time to be a socially progressive fan of the superhero world.

Simu Liu, the 32-year-old Chinese-Canadian newbie actor of Kim’s Convenience fame, is shaking things at the white boys’ club. As the first Asian lead of a Marvel superhero film, he’s on the cusp of becoming the face of diversity, representing a population which isn’t all white, whilst carving out a permanent place for himself amongst Hollywood A-listers.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, due for release on 3 September, showcases a predominantly Asian cast, and pits superhero Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) against the terrorist group, Ten Rings, that was introduced in Iron Man. Social media sensation and Crazy Rich Asians’ actor Awkwafina also stars.
We take a look at Liu’s rocky path to stardom, which mirrors the progress of the times.

Canada Bound
Born in Harbin in 1989, Liu was raised by his grandparents until the age of five. His parents had migrated to Ontario to complete their education at Queen’s University and “start a better life”. By 1995, they were financially secured for their son to join them, but the two generations of the family were complete strangers. In an open letter to his parents, Liu states, “I was excited to finally meet my real parents and start my life in Canada, but I had no recollection of you.” It was a period of resentment, tough adjustment and culture shock for the youngster. “We fought often… If I tripped on my laces, I was clumsy. If I scored below an A, I was stupid. If I wanted to hang out with my friends, I was wasting my time. I spoke dismissively about you, told you I hated you, and that I couldn’t wait to leave the house. But privately, I yearned for your love and affection.”

From Accounting to Acting
Like most Asian families, Liu’s highly qualified, aerospace-engineer parents raised him to pursue a career in the sciences. Little did they know destiny had other plans. After graduating from Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School by the skin of his teeth, he got an accounting job with Deloitte in its downtown Toronto office. It was crash and burn from the word go. Liu hated crunching numbers, Deloitte was not a fan, and after nine months, he was laid off. “The first round of cuts, and I was right out,” he recalls.

Ashamed and embarrassed, he considered leaping from the balcony to avoid facing his high-achieving parents. But the thing about hitting rock bottom is that you can only go up. A pink slip motivated him to try something new – performing arts – and he was instantly drawn to the world of acting.

Also Read: Five things you really need to know about Andrew Garfield

More than a Stunt
Liu’s leading man status has been hard-earned. He started out as a stunt artist; Hollywood expected an Asian man in the industry to know martial arts. As a side gig, he performed stunts at birthday parties for extra cash. Serendipitously, it was a Craigslist ad directed him to his first acting role – an extra “deep, deep in the background” in the 2013 sci-fi film, Pacific Rim.

The aspiring star has always showed drive. Not one to sit back and wait for the ideal role or the perfect opportunity, he grabbed whatever came his way and gave it his all – and that tactic has paid off, big time!

Plea to Marvel
The struggling actor was “handing out dog-food samples on the side of the road in Toronto” when he put out this 2014 tweet, “Hey @Marvel, great job with Cpt America and Thor. Now how about an Asian-American hero?” Seven years later, he has just become one.
Unbeknownst to him, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, often criticised for its affinity with conventionally handsome white males, was internally rebooting to stay socially and politically relevant in the #MeToo age. It was gearing up to unveil a swathe of diverse superheroes. Shang Chi, with its momentous Asian casting, promises to be one of this year’s marquee blockbuster releases. Simu Liu as a Chinese superhero has not only deepened the conversation around race and representation – the step up is also being seen as a huge leap for Hollywood – one that marks progress over profits and doesn’t reduce diversity to an act of tokenism, a stunt or a sidekick.

Happy Convenience
Years of toil on the acting fringes paid off in 2016 with a role in critically acclaimed Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience, the show about the day-to-day happenings of a Korean immigrant family. Liu plays one of the central characters, Jung Kim, in this smash hit; it quickly drew an avid following and was one of the most watched comedies on Netflix in 2018. Ironically, the show runs parallel to his own life and immigrant story.

Umma (Jean Yoon) and Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) are mellow, easy-going folk, who gradually begin to see the world beyond the prejudices that surface with each new customer. Much like Liu’s own experiences, the children in the show – Janet and Jung – learn to appreciate their parents’ struggle, live through their idiosyncrasies and find love, care and support in their largely affectionless home. In the end, despite all the ups and downs, everyone pretty much gets along. Similarly, as Liu matured, he came to see the world through his parents’ eyes. His open letter is a tribute to them: “In hindsight, I know that you were doing the best. Money was always tight. And so you worked hard and often. You pushed me as hard as you could so that I would never have to know the struggle of not knowing where my next meal would come from.”

Familiar Face
With more than 30 film, TV and ad credits to his name, including Fresh Off The Boat, Orphan Black, Slasher and Bad Blood, the actor is increasingly popular on both the big and small screen. But you might recognise him from somewhere else. In 2014, during his dog-food promoting days, Liu did a photoshoot for iStock images for US$120 – a quick cash solution that he, at the time, didn’t realise would be splashed all over the internet – for countless job advertisements, bus posters and even as the cover of accounting books. “That stock photo shoot always finds a way to come back and haunt me. LOL”, he shares with his fans on Instagram.

Turning Point?
The world in which we grew up could not imagine an Asian as the face of a Marvel movie. Representation matters when you have millions of eyeballs forming an image of what heroes look like. Simu Liu’s starring role sends a powerful message – that in 2021, race, gender and sexual orientation should not come in the way of being a hero. Hopefully, the tide will continue to rise from one studio to another until the day issues of diversity will no longer be magazine stories.

(Text: Nikita Mishra)

Also Read: Think you know all about Colin Firth? It could be you’ve got him all wrong…

Wanderer at Heart: What you don’t know about the Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand

Frances McDormand is that mythical creature in Tinseltown, a thespian who – despite her advancing years (she turns 64 this month) – has managed to not only stay relevant to audiences the world over, but also regularly out-perform actresses of all ages. Proof positive of this staying power can be found with even the briefest perusal of her laundry list of awards. She clinched her first Best Actress Academy Award in 1997 for her starring role in the black comedy, Fargo, while just this year, she nabbed yet another Oscar, a Golden Globe, a British Film Academy Award and a Screen Actors Guild win for her widely acclaimed performance in Nomadland.

Yet, despite having lived in the media limelight for nigh on a quarter of a century, the Illinois-born star’s penchant for evading almost all discussion of her personal life means that little is known about her aside from her onscreen performances. Over the years, though, the enigmatic actress has let a few interesting gems drop…

Her First Name
Frances McDormand was actually born on 23 June 1957 as Cynthia Ann Smith in Gibson City, Illinois. It wasn’t until she was adopted at the age of one by pastor Vernon McDormand and his wife, Noreen, that she acquired the name that would emblazon billboards promoting some 40 films since 1984. To date, she still doesn’t know who her birth parents are. She was given the opportunity to meet her real mother as a teenager, but turned it down, though she harbours suspicions that Smith Sr. may have been one of her father’s parishioners.

Bible Belt Travels
Since her adoptive father’s responsibilities as a minister of the Disciples of Christ church included revitalising flagging congregations across the United States, much of Frances’s childhood was spent relocating to various Bible Belt communities. In addition to his religious duties, Vernon and his wife also found time to take in nine children over the years, meaning that the actress grew up in a large family.

Freedom Through Expression
As the adopted daughter of a minister, she was required to behave with a certain amount of respectability and restraint. So, when her English teacher suggested the teenager take on the role of Lady Macbeth for a workshop, she leapt at the chance to leave propriety at the door. Speaking of this formative experience, she recalls: “That was the hook. It was the power of being a really shy, slightly suspect seventh-grader who could stand in front of a group of people and keep their attention.” Thus, the seeds of her acting career were sown.

Anti-Embellishment
In an industry where cosmetic surgery and impossible beauty standards reign, Frances McDormand is an unabashedly non-compliant standout. Not only does she frown upon award shows – she’s known to be highly sceptical of any ceremony where actors are dressed up like dolls – she also forgoes make-up and jewellery, preferring instead to display a bare-faced charisma. Borrowed haute couture is yet another facet of red-carpet life that she shuns, having worn her own denim jacket to one such glamorous event.

Brothers Plus One
The long-standing leading lady has been married to Joel Coen – half of the smash directorial duo, the Coen brothers – since 1984. In fact, the couple met when she auditioned for a role in their directorial debut, Blood Simple. Twelve years later, another collaboration between the trio, Fargo, would garner McDormand her first slew of critical awards, finally and permanently catapulting her into the big leagues. Speaking of their happy meeting, she divulged: “It was a revelation that I could have a lover who I could also work with and I wasn’t intimidated by. I thought ‘Oh, my God! I can actually love and live – not subvert anything, not apologise for anything, not hide anything!’”

A Mother’s Love
Though the couple don’t have biological children, they adopted a son, Pedro McDormand Coen, in Paraguay when he was just six months old. “As a mother, you live on the edge of disaster; you just do,” she has said. “I didn’t give birth to my son, I met him at six months old, but from the minute I held him and smelled him, I knew it was my job to keep him alive.” Interestingly, despite having Hollywood hotshots as parents, young Pedro has largely chosen to eschew the entertainment industry, and, instead, is a certified massage therapist and personal trainer.

And the Awards Go To…
Few actresses have as storied a CV as Frances McDormand. The chameleonic star’s seemingly effortless ability to portray a wide array of characters has garnered her widespread critical acclaim, not to mention a treasure trove of awards. She has won three Academy Awards and two Golden Globes for big-screen performances such as Fargo, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and the recent Nomadland. If that weren’t enough, she also nabbed an Emmy for her role in the 2014 TV miniseries Olive Kitteridge, and garnered a Tony Award for treading the boards in the 2011 play, Good People.

Grand Theft Oscar
Interestingly, the Oscar she won for Three Billboards in 2018 made headlines in its own right when it strayed from McDormand’s possession during the Governor’s Ball after party. A paparazzo at the event, Terry Bryant, posted a Facebook video of himself clutching the golden statuette while gloating, “This is mine!” The award was returned to its rightful owner that evening, and Byrant was arrested for grand theft. He denied the charge and the case was dismissed before it went to trial.

Bye-bye Acting?
Frances McDormand has never made a secret of her desire to leave Tinseltown and set off in an RV once she reached her sixties. This wish was further inflamed following her performance as Fern, a woman who loses her husband and her home, and journeys across the US picking up seasonal work in Nomadland. “[The movie] tapped into the truth of it,” she explains, “which was that at different points of my life, I’ve said to my husband, ‘I can’t take this anymore, I’m dropping out.’” Thankfully, while she has reportedly invested in a camper van, she hasn’t turned her back on Hollywood just yet, but that time may come sooner than the world expects – and is ready for.

Five things you really need to know about Andrew Garfield

Tick, Tick BOOM! is an appropriate enough title for the latest movie from ex-Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield as, despite its protracted and highly-public production countdown, no-one seems entirely sure as when it’s likely to explode on to screens. What we do know is it’s a musical, Netflix has bagged the broadcast rights and, apparently, it has to be contractually released before the end of the current year. While waiting for firmer tidings of the likely timings and critical reception, it’s the ideal opportunity to while away an idle moment or two uncovering Five Things You Almost Certainly Didn’t Know About Andrew Garfield…

One: Unlike most actors who are born out in the sticks and then head Hollywood-wards. Garfield was actually born within posturing distance of Tinseltown, before promptly decamping some 8,800 kilometres northeast to Epsom, an English market town best known for its bath salts. The second son of California-born Richard and Essex girl Lynn (who together ran an interior design business), the young Garfield divided his early years between stamp-collecting and swimming, proof positive, perhaps, of the limited opportunities London commuterland afforded an aspiring thesp.

Thankfully, he was able to follow up on his dramatic impulses by first enrolling in a Theatre Studies course at his local school, then graduating to the University of London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, the alma mater of such bigscreen heavyweights as Dame Judi Dench, Carrie Fisher and Sir Laurence Olivier. He then served his time in the world of provincial UK theatre (winning the Outstanding Newcomer Award at the prestigious Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2006), before making a guest appearance in the BBC’s Doctor Who, the world’s longest-running science fiction series. Various TV and movie supporting roles followed, before he hit the big time as the star of two high profile 2010 movies – Never Let Me Go and The Social Network. Two years later, he was Spider-Man.

Two: It’s fair to say that it was The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) that transformed the actor’s fortunes from: “Andrew, who?” to “Oh really? I thought it was Toby Maguire…” (the incumbent Spidey in the preceding web-slinging trilogy). Despite describing the role as a “massive challenge in many ways” – and despite the popularity of his long-standing predecessor, it soon seemed as though Garfield had made the part his own. Indeed, The Guardian – the relatively, high-brow, left-leaning former broadsheet not best known for its love of the cinematic superhero genre – went as far as to acclaim him as “the definitive Spider-Man”. Sadly, he didn’t stay definitive for all that long.

Although he was once again swinging across the New York skyline in 2014’s somewhat unimaginatively-titled The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it was to be his last outing as the arachnid-venomed villain-thwarter. The third part of the putative trilogy – which, let’s take a wild stab, was called The Amazing Spider-Man 3 – was sadly never to be.
Disappointingly, it wasn’t Doc Ock, the Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter or any other of Spidey’s gaudy back catalogue of bad-doers that saw him off. Rather more prosaically, it was the conclusion of a long-term global copyright contretemps. This saw the rights to Spidey relinquished by Sony and permission granted for Peter Parker (the webslinger’s alter ego) to join the rest of the cinematic Marvel universe in time for 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, a sort of prelude to the box-office bazookaing end of the wider Avengers’ storyline.

Sadly, when Spidey did get to catch up with the rest of his comic book counterparts – notably Thor, the Hulk and Iron Man – he looked a lot like 20-year-old up-and-coming actor Tom Holland and not a bit like the now surplus-to-requirements Garfield.

Three: Although dumped from the Spideyverse, Garfield can take some comfort from the fact his undoubted charms have seen him woo some of the world’s most beautiful women. Just prior to cinematic superheroing taking him centrestage, he was in a long-term relationship with Westworld actress Shannon Woodward. This apparently foundered when superstardom kept the couple apart. The fact that Woodward came out as gay a couple of years later, however, probably indicates the affair was ill-fated from the off.

Later years saw him linked to his The Amazing Spider-Man co-star Emma Stone, fellow Marvel alumnus Susie Abromeit and Rita Ora, the feted and award-winning British singer-songwriter. More recently, he was said to have been dating stunning model and med school graduate, 27-year-old Christine Gabel. Rumour has it, though, that they too have split, with born-again bachelor Garfield apparently spending much of 2020 isolating at home alone.

Four: Thankfully, the Covid-19 outbreak didn’t totally curtail his dramatic career, with filming of the forthcoming Tick, Tick BOOM! completed in November last year. The movie sees Garfield take on the role of Johnathan Larson, a wannabe playwright reduced to waiting tables in New York while he awaits his big break.

Said to be an autobiographical tale – the “real” Johnathan Larson, the man behind the Tony Award-winning musical Rent, wrote and composed the piece – the movie also stars Alexandra Shipp and Vanessa Hudgens, while marking the directorial debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creative tour de force behind Hamilton, one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time.

Five: While excitement is certainly building with regard to the premiere of Tick, Tick BOOM!, it’s upcoming arrival has been all but eclipsed by rumours of Something Even Bigger waiting in the wings – Garfield’s return as Spider-Man. Even more compelling, there is no suggestion that his successor, Holland, has been ousted, but rather that he will be joining him (and his own predecessor Maguire) in the allegedly dimension-hopping Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is due to hit your local multiplex at some point in December this year.

Should the rumours be borne out, this will see the Spidermen of various realities teaming up to combat a veritable multi-verse of villains, with Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx and Rhys Ifans returning as Doctor Octopus, Electro and The Lizard respectively from their own earlier incarnations of the franchise. Although Marvel Studios is proving coy about officially confirming this mix and matching of the wider Spidyverse, it’s now come to be regarded as petty much the Worst Kept Scripting Secret in Hollywood (and competition is high for such a title).

It’s fair to say, should it not come to pass, several generations of the Webbed Wonder’s most devout followers are going be left choking on their novelty Peter Parker Popcorn packets. Good as it might well certainly be, the eventual arrival of Tick, Tick BOOM!, may not suffice to make up for any such disappointment.

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Go Girl: Is there no stopping Gone Girl actress Rosamund Pike?

It’s a rare talent indeed that can don and shed roles with the ease of changing an outfit, but that’s exactly what British actress Rosamund Pike seems to do so effortlessly. Whether portraying a hidden double agent (Die Another Day), playing a jilted wife who fakes her own death and frames her husband (Gone Girl), bringing to life the complicated struggles of 18th-century scientist Marie Curie (Radioactive) or embracing villainy as the anti-protagonist in the recent I Care A Lot Netflix movie, this talented thespian seems to revel in the challenge of bringing powerful female roles – with all their intrinsic struggles and triumphs – to the screen.

Unlike many of her fellow leading ladies, who all too often lay bare their lives for public consumption, Pike is notoriously private about her off-screen life. Over the course of her 20-year career, however, she has let slip one or two interesting facts…

Youthful Inspiration
Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike was born on 27 January 1979 in East London’s Hammersmith district, the only child of opera singers Caroline Friend and Julian Pike. Given her parents’ clear love of performing, it probably came as no surprise that she was bitten by the acting bug while still a child. Recalling watching her parents on stage as a child, she says: “All I was really looking at was whether I believed the performance, whether I believed that this was something that was real and human and true. I think all I’ve ever been interested in is the truth.”

Star Student
Since the age of seven, the London-born star lived in several cities across Europe due to her opera singer father’s various commitments. As a result, she speaks fluent French and German. Despite the constant relocation, Pike remained an outstanding student, eventually winning a full scholarship to Bristol’s prestigious Badminton School, before enrolling at Oxford University to major in English Literature.

Acting Bug
Although her parents’ career piqued Pike’s interest in stage performance, it wasn’t until she watched renowned actor Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance in 1993’s In the Name of the Father that she decided to enter the industry herself. Addressing the influence of this seminal performance, she says: “It made me realise the power of film and made me aware that this medium could inspire a physical reaction within me.”

Breakout Role
The actress entered the big league when she starred in the 2014 American psychological thriller Gone Girl, although it was actually a movie released some 12 years earlier that was truly her big break. Her captivating performance as double agent Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, the Pierce Brosnan-starring Bond instalment, saw her receive widespread acclaim, opening the door for far juicier roles in the years to come.

Jilted Bride
Despite boasting an award-winning career, the I Care A Lot actress’ personal life has been anything but smooth sailing. In particular, her romances have all too often turned sour, with her two-year relationship to Pride & Prejudice director Joe Wright – who she met while filming the movie in a supporting role and whom she was engaged to at the time – ended when the groom-to-be chose to pull the plug just days before the wedding. Thankfully, she had better luck with her next love affair with British mathematical researcher businessman Robbie Uniacke, with whom she now shares two children.

Imperfect Beauty
In an industry where photoshopping images of actors to create unrealistic standards of beauty is the norm, Pike has been extremely vocal about criticising this practice of ‘body tuning’. Complaining of her eyes being changed from green to brown in promotional material for her 2019 biographical drama, Radioactive, as well as having been given a huge breast augmentation in posters for 2011’s Johnny English Reborn, she says: “There’s probably countless times where our image is doctored and we might not even notice as I think we are all losing our grip on what we really look like.”

Baddie Vibes
Over the years, Pike has received widespread acclaim for her ability to portray strong, independent women, many of whom, typically, set out to buck a particular trend. Her most beloved roles, however, are arguably those that see her playing a villain. Most famously, she played Amy Dunne in Gone Girl, who fakes her own murder and frames her husband to punish him for his infidelity. In her most recent small-screen outing, I Care A Lot, she once again goes to the dark side with her portrayal of Marla Grayson, an amoral professional legal guardian who scams the elderly out of their homes and pensions. Not only did the critics cheer her tour de force performance – one even went so far as to rave: “Pike is almost too effective, her delicious villainy too irresistible to completely loathe.” – she even received her first Golden Globe for this particular performance.

Buried Accolades
For most dwellers in Tinseltown, receiving an award is something to take pride in and something to show off at every opportunity. In the case of Pike, who has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy Award and a British Independent Film Award, the exact opposite is true. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, she said: “I find it an uneasy thing to display any award in your home. It’s probably deeply psychological, like some deep underlying imposter syndrome, so I bury them in the garden with a little bit showing up, so you can have an enticing glimpse of a hand or globe…”

Social Media Influencer
After years of shunning social media, the Gone Girl star finally caved in and joined the popular Instagram service a few years ago. Since then, she’s gone on to acquire more than 450,000 followers, largely thanks to her quirky posts and intriguing snapshots of her personal life. In February this year, she went viral after displaying her more innovative side via a post showing how to eat a pineapple without using a knife.

Multitalented
As if being an award-winning actress weren’t enough, the British star has her finger in a number of other pies. This has seen her become the face of LK Bennett, the high fashion brand beloved by Kate Middleton, while she also narrated the 2009 documentary Yesterday We Were in America, the story of the first pilots to complete a non-stop transatlantic flight successfully.

‘Gorge’ Washington: Exploring the life and career of Denzel Washington

Few African-American actors have had as storied a career as Denzel Washington. With a success-packed CV stretching back more than 40 years, the much-loved thespian has consistently been celebrated for his engaging, tour-de-force performances, abiding charisma and down-to-earth personality. Indeed, the 66-year-old New York native has forged his own path in the entertainment industry, breaking down stereotypes and proving the dramatic strength and box-office attraction of black male leads time and time again. For his efforts, he’s been showered with countless awards and critical acclaim, with a sterling Hollywood reputation that few of his contemporaries – of any race – could hope to match.

Despite being in the limelight for decades, the famed actor has been notoriously tight-lipped about his private life. Yet, the man who has found success in bringing the stories of true-life characters to the big screen has had an equally interesting life away from the cameras. From his allegedly misspent youth to his struggle with a higher calling, some of the lesser known facets of Denzel Washington’s life certainly merit exploring…

A Hard Start
The actor’s staggeringly successful career is one that few could have imagined, let alone Washington himself. Born on 28 December, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York to Denzel Hayes Washington Sr., an ordained Pentecostal minister, and Lennis, a beauty parlour owner, his upbringing was anything but easy. Following his parents’ divorce during his teen years, his strongest memories are of seeing his single mother scramble to put food on the table. Yet, despite the struggles, he still cites his parents as being true role models, saying: “My father was a preacher – a kind, spiritual person. My mother owned a beauty shop. She was a go-getter and wanted more for us kids. My parents were inspirations by example.”

Flirting with Crime
Growing up on the streets of Mount Vernon, Denzel fell in with a crowd of rambunctious teens and often got into trouble with the law. Recalling this, he says: “I was what they call ‘throwing rocks at the penitentiary’, but I never hit it. I never got caught… but I also knew right from wrong, so I never wanted to go too far.” Nevertheless, his put-upon mother managed to scrape together enough money to get him away from temptation, sending him to boarding school in upstate New York.

Realistic Portrayals
Since the ’80s, the talented thespian has consistently won widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal of important real-life figures. Most notable among these were 1987’s Cry Freedom, where he played South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, his role as Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X in the eponymous 1992 biopic, football coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans (2000), and gritty drug kingpin Franc Lucas in 2007’s American Gangster.

Perfect Beauty
A scientific article, Biological Basis on the Perceptions of Beauty, published in Newsweek during the ’90s, singled out the actor as being a prime example for the “perfection of beauty”. The study, which cited facial symmetry as being a key indicator of attractiveness, pointed to his perfectly centred nose, aligned eyes, lips and ears as modelling the highest standards of facial beauty.

Award Winner
Across his 40-odd-year career, Washington has accumulated a whole host of accolades for a variety of roles. Key among these are two Academy Awards (he was the first African-American to be accorded such an honour), three Golden Globes, a Tony Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2016, he was even the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award from the Golden Globes jury for his “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”.

Director’s Chair
After decades of starring on the silver screen, in 2002, he stepped behind the cameras for the first time and made his directorial debut with the highly-biographical film Antwone Fisher. Five years later, he returned to the director’s chair for another biographical movie, The Great Debaters. After a long hiatus, 2017 saw him star and direct in a third film, Fences, which went on to be nominated for Best Picture at that year’s Academy Awards.

Prophesy Fulfilled
While the Training Day star was a struggling 20-year-old student at Fordham University, he had his fortune told at his mother’s beauty salon. A customer there scribbled a note that said: “You’re going to speak to millions of people. You’re going to do great things” and handed it to him. Though sceptical at the time, his fortunes changed and he still has that piece of paper today.

Family Man
Standing in stark contrast with the oft-lurid personal lives of Hollywood’s elite, Washington’s home life is refreshingly normal, something that he sees as a point of pride. In fact, he’s even been quoted as saying: “Acting is just a way of making a living, but family is life.” He’s been married to wife Pauletta, whom he met on the set of the TV film Wilma, for an amazing 37 years. Together, the couple have four children.

Preacher, Preacher
The Hollywood A-lister has never been shy when it comes to sharing his strong belief in the Christian faith and championing how it has positively impacted on every aspect of his life. What is less known, though, is that at one point, he considered foregoing acting to become a preacher, even going so far as to ask his pastor about how to make the change. Though he ultimately decided to remain an actor, motivational speaking has also become a big thing for him over recent years. Explaining why, he says: “I’ve always understood that I’ve been blessed to be put in this situation and I’m more than happy to take advantage of it and preach, if you will, about what God has done in my life.”

Black Panther Maker
A true believer in giving back to the community, the actor has a long history of donating funds to a range of causes, including college scholarship funds for black youths. One of the students he sponsored, unbeknownst to him, was the late Black Panther star, Chadwick Boseman. At the 47th AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony celebrating the venerable star, the younger actor even went so far as to say: “There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington.”

Keeping up with the Jones: Keeping tabs on Felicity Jones is no easy matter…

“Often, the last thing I want to do is stand up in front of 50 cameras on the red carpet. I’d rather have a cup of hot milk and an early night,” says British actress Felicity Jones. Despite her outwardly demure nature, however, the past decade has seen her headline countless cinematic blockbusters, thrusting her into the limelight over and over again. This, perhaps, is because the 37-year-old seems to have a golden touch when it comes to selecting the movies she chooses to involve herself with, while her ability to play powerful female roles resonates with audiences the world over.

Felicity Rose Hadley Jones, to give the lady her full name, was born in the West Midlands city of Birmingham on 17 October 1983 to journalist Gareth Jones and Julia Jones, an advertising executive. The couple separated when she was still very young and she credits seeing her working single mother striving to keep food on the table as helping to instil into her the importance of hard work.

It was this very work ethic that saw her kick-start her career when not yet a teenager. Bitten by the acting bug at the tender age of 11 – perhaps influenced by her maternal uncle, actor Michael Hadley, who most recently appeared in 2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword – she made her small-screen debut in the British-Canadian TV series, The Worst Witch, at just 14-years-old.

The following year, she took an unusual step when she accepted the voice-only role of Emma Grundy in BBC 4 Radio’s staggeringly popular long-running soap, The Archers. It was a role that she would go on to play more than 10 years, a period that took her through her schooling and all of her years at Oxford University. She also believes it set her on the path to stardom, saying: “That’s where I learnt my craft. When I was at home, I was particularly popular among friends’ parents on account of appearing in The Archers.”

In the years that followed, she went on to appear in numerous TV series, including The Worst Witch sequel, Weirdsister College, in 2001, the 2003 BBC One drama Servants, and the 2007 small-screen adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (in which she played the lead role of Catherine Morland). Then, in 2008, she finally made her silver screen debut, appearing in Flashback of a Fool, starring James Bond actor Daniel Craig and Claire Forlani of Meet Joe Black fame.

It wasn’t until 2011, though, that she finally hit the big league, landing a starring role in the romantic drama, Like Crazy. The film received the much-coveted Grand Jury Prize when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with Jones’ heartbreaking and captivating performance as the protagonist, Anna, singled out as meriting particular critical acclaim.

Over the next 10 years, she established herself as a true Tinseltown leading lady, one who’s CV is punctuated with both hugely successful box-office hits and highly-rated indie flicks. Throughout this period, one thing became clear – she has a particular affinity for bringing to life strong female characters, ones who combat sexism, stereotypes and stigmas in equal measure.

In 2016, for example, she took on the role of Jyn Erso, the female protagonist in the action-packed Star Wars spin-off Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Perfectly portraying a plucky resistance leader, she assembled a rag-tag team on a quest to capture the plans for the apocalyptic Death Star weapon.

“Jones has a a particular affinity with strong female characters, ones who combat sexism and stereotyping”

Then, two years later, she confirmed her feminist leanings in On the Basis of Sex, a biopic of the (now) late, great US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with a focus on the opening years of her career. Despite her tour-de-force performance and an intriguing plot, the film opened to mixed reviews. Recalling the audience’s reaction, she later said: “I felt there was an ingrained sexism, at certain points, that came out in response to the film. Even now, it’s hard to put out a film like that into the world, something that focuses on female triumphs, female success…”

Apparently not in the least disheartened, her next silver screen outing, 2019’s The Aeronauts, saw Jones bring to life Amelia Rennes, a daredevil 19th-century hot air balloon pilot, renowned for reaching new heights against all odds. Generally well received, her performance (alongside Eddie Redmayne) even saw one critic proclaim claim: “The duo hand-in-hand elevates The Aeronauts from a flimsy action-adventure to something worth watching on the biggest possible screen.”

“Even now, it’s hard to put out a film like that into the world, something that focuses on female triumphs, female success…”

For her next outing, however, the actress seems to be taking a break from action-packed drama for more light-hearted fare in the form of The Last Letter from Your Lover, a romantic drama slated for release on 12 March this year. After that, the future seems less clear. While rumours abound that she may be reprising her role as Jyn Erso in yet another Star Wars outing, there is yet to be official confirmation of any such move. However, given the breadth of her talent and her steadily rising star, one thing is clear – we’ve not seen the last of Felicity Jones.

Five Must-Watch Felicity Jones Movies

Like Crazy (2011)

This immigrant love story starring Jones alongside then-fellow-up-and-comers Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence marked the actress’ first entree in the world of high profile cinema. The movie follows Anna (Jones), a British university student navigating the challenges of a long-distance relationship with her American beau.

The Theory of Everything (2014)

Her role as Jane Hawking, the wife of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, saw her bring to life the woman’s struggles when it came to dealing with her husband’s simultaneous rise to scientific superstardom and his crippling battle with motor neurone disease. The Theory of Everything garnered a string of accolades, including a BAFTA nod and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Jones.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

In this prequel to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the first instalment of the massively popular Star Wars franchise, Jones leads an all-star cast as Jyn Erso, a young rebel instrumental in stealing the plans of the Death Star, the evil Empire’s secret weapon. Taking more than US$1 billion worldwide, it stands as the 20th-highest-grossing movie of all time.

On the Basis of Sex (2018)

Continuing to bring empowering female roles to the big screen, this time she stars as trailblazing US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This true-to-life biopic tracks Bader’s brilliant legal mind as she combats sexism and institutionalism early on in her groundbreaking career, before eventually becoming only the second woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court.

The Aeronauts (2019)

This film adaptation of the 2013 novel, Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air by famed British author Richard Holmes sees Jones take on the role of a wealthy 19th-century young woman who, together with scientist James Glaisher (played by Eddie Redmayne, her The Theory of Everything co-star), mount an ambitious hot air balloon expedition. Laden with stunning visual effects and riveting, heart-stopping action, this is one movie that sure to have you on the edge of your seat.

Euphoric Rise: Zendaya, the youngest Emmy award winner

At just 24, Zendaya already has a Marvel role, an Emmy and a certified platinum song under her belt

At an age where most people are only just starting to navigate their career paths, 24-year-old American actress and singer Zendaya just took home the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in the smash hit HBO show, Euphoria. She’s the youngest actress in history to win the award, beating out stiff competition from Tinseltown veterans like Laura Linney, Sandra Oh and Jennifer Aniston. She has also been lauded for playing the straight-talking MJ in Marvel’s wildly successful Spider-Man franchise, released two hit albums and recorded a platinum-selling song – Rewrite the Stars, from the soundtrack of the 2017 musical drama The Greatest Showman. The world, it seems, just can’t get enough of Zendaya.

Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman – to give her full name – was born on September 1, 1996, as the only child of teachers Claire Marie Stoermer and Kazembe Ajamu, a.k.a. Samuel David Coleman. Painfully shy from the get-go, she was forced to repeat kindergarten in order to socially acclimatise with her schoolmates. At six, she was introduced to acting when she and two of her friends, the only black children at their private school, convinced the principal to allow them to perform a play for Black History Month. “I was Bessie Coleman,” she remembers, “My friends were Harriet Tubman and Madam C.J. Walker. We just felt we needed to raise awareness about the importance of these women.”

From that day on, Zendaya was smitten. Every summer, she would accompany her mom to her second job at the California Shakespeare Theater, acting in several of their productions. She also signed up for dance lessons and joined a dance troupe for three years. Her first taste of stardom, though, came when she landed one of the lead roles of Disney Channel’s Shake It Up in 2010. By the time she graduated high school, the multi-talented teen had starred in two more Disney TV shows, penned an inspirational book for tweens titled Between U and Me, and released a solo album featuring a song, Replay, that went platinum. She also starred in season 16 of Dancing with the Stars at 16 years old – then the youngest-ever contestant on the show – and wound up finishing strong in second place.

The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes On Fashion - Arrivals — Zendaya and Law Roach at the 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp in New York City. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for THR)

Never one to rest on her laurels, Zendaya also found time in her busy schedule to indulge her love of all things sartorial. In 2016, she found her own clothing line, Daya by Zendaya, and also starred as a guest judge on the 15th season of Project Runway. Two years later, she was signed by fashion label Tommy Hilfiger as its global women’s ambassador and collaboratively released several Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya capsule collections.

71st Emmy Awards - Arrivals — Zendaya at the 71st Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

The crowning achievement of her young life, though, possibly came earlier this year, when she nabbed the coveted Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her leading role as Rue in the HBO hit series Euphoria. Loosely based on the Israeli TV show of the same name, Euphoria delivers a vibrant, almost brutal depiction of contemporary US high school life, burnished with the very real issues of social media, drugs and more. Zendaya was lauded in all corners for her gritty portrayal of the reckless recovering teen drug addict, with The Guardian calling her performance “mesmerising” and “astonishing”, and The New Yorker even dubbing her “the best part” of the series.

“Although Euphoria was amazing and exciting, it was also extremely stressful. It gave me anxiety every week”

Eager to give back, the actress has found a unique way to raise funds and awareness for different causes – by using her birthday as a means to raise funds for worthy initiatives. When she turned 18, she partnered with Convoy of Hope – a philanthropic relief organization with whom she has been connected since 2012 – to raise money to feed over 100 malnourished children in Haiti, the Philippines, and Tanzania. The following year, following a trip to South Africa with UN AIDS, she hosted another fundraising project, this time to help the country’s AIDS orphans. To celebrate turning 20, Zendaya once again teamed up with Convoy of Hope, this time managing to raise US$50,000 for the organization’s Women’s Empowerment Initiative.

Spider-Man: Far From Home Premiere — Zendaya attends the Premiere of “Spider-Man Far From Home” at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Glenn Francis/Pacific Pro Digital Photography)

Speaking about her passion for charitable and social endeavors, she says, “I don’t just sing, dance, and act because I love it,” she says. “You have to have a purpose, and mine is to connect with the world, to get across messages that are important. I’d much rather be known for leaving a little stamp of positivity on one person’s life than for the last project that I did.”

“I’d much rather be known for leaving a little stamp of positivity on one person’s life than for the last project that I did”

She still does, however, have multiple projects looming on the horizon, with her next high-profile appearance set to be in the upcoming remake of Frank Herbert’s cult science-fiction novel Dune (2021) alongside co-star Timothée Chalamet. She has also reunited with Euphoria director Sam Levinson in the upcoming drama Malcolm & Marie, a production that was shot in secret during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Perhaps her most anticipated silver screen return, though, is the reprisal of her beloved role as MJ in the as-yet untitled third sequel of the Spider-Man franchise, set for release in 2021. After that, the path seems less clear, though given Zendaya’s smart choices – both onscreen and in the charity sphere – chances are her star can only continue to rise.

Text: Tenzing Thondup

Photos: Dominic Miller, Bulgari

Late Bloomer: A Hollywood stalwart, Liam Neeson has yet to win any major acting awards

British-Irish actor Liam John Neeson from Northern Ireland is a household name across the world after nearly 40 years in cinema since his first movie Excalibur in 1981.

He is best known for his roles in the Oscars-winning Schindler’s List and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. His body of work has earned him nominations for numerous awards, including the Oscar. But quite intriguingly he hasn’t won any major acting award, although, Empire Magazine once cited him in its Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time.

At various times in his decades-old acting career, he has been nominated for best actor and other major awards at the prestigious Oscars and Golden Globes. Emerging empty-handed from those nominations must have frustrated and disappointed him to no end.

Born in Ballymena, Ireland in 1952 to Katherine “Kitty” Neeson, a cook, and Bernard “Barney” Neeson, a caretaker at the Ballymena Boys All Saints Primary School, the veteran actor had a chequered young life that included flirting with boxing starting at the tender age of nine.

He was progressing as a boxer and won several regional titles, but opted out of the sport when he turned 17. Neeson also discovered a talent for football and nearly became a professional player in 1971 when he was enrolled as a physics and computer science student at Queen’s University Belfast. He played one game as a substitute but was not offered a contract.

Acting in school productions during his teens and the positive influence by Democratic Unionist Party founder Ian Paisley were what stoked his interest and eventual decision to pursue acting. “He had a magnificent presence and it was incredible to watch him just Bible-thumping away… it was acting, but it was also great acting and stirring too,” says Neeson, recalling his impressions of Paisley.

“It was incredible … it was acting, but it was also great acting and stirring too”

After leaving university, Neeson returned to Ballymena, where he worked in different casual odd jobs, from a forklift operator at Guinness to a truck driver. He also attended teacher training college for two years in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, before again returning to his hometown. In 1976, Neeson joined the Lyric Players’ Theatre in Belfast, where he performed for two years.

He got his first film experience in 1977, playing Jesus Christ and Evangelist in the religious film Pilgrim’s Progress (1978).

Neeson moved to Dublin in 1978 after he was offered a part in Ron Hutchinson’s Says I, Says He, a drama about The Troubles. He acted in several other small productions until filmmaker John Boorman saw him on stage in 1980 in Of Mice and Men and offered him the role of Sir Gawain in the Arthurian film Excalibur.

The ’80s saw him team up with big-name Hollywood stars, including Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins and Robert De Niro. High-profile roles started coming from 1986 and in 1988, he starred alongside Clint Eastwood in the fifth Dirty Harry film, The Dead Pool. In 1993, Neeson shot to prominence when he portrayed Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List. From there, he starred in other successful films.

A major turning point came in 2008 when Neeson starred in the action thriller Taken, a French-produced film based on a script by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. The action thriller series brought Neeson back into the center of the public eye and resulted in his being cast in many more big-budget Hollywood movies.

After Taken in 2008, Neeson almost overnight went from a well-loved star of wrenching dramatic fare (and the occasional rom-com) to a legitimately bankable action hero with one of the most recognizable faces on the planet — all at the ripe old age of 56. In the years since, the star has leaned head-on into his new status, cranking out an impressive array of big, dumb, endlessly enjoyable action fare.

While he has not won any Oscars and any other major acting award, Neeson has been listed this year at number seven on The Irish Times’ list of Ireland’s greatest film actors.

He has garnered various highly prestigious accolades some of which are not commonly available or conferred to performing artists. A case in point was his appointment as Officer of the Order of the British Empire presented by Queen Elizabeth II in her 2000 New Year Honours. In 2016, Irish President Michael D. Higgins conferred to Neeson the Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award by the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) at the Mansion House in Dublin.

Neeson has a handful of upcoming action flicks. Expected to hit theatres this month is Honest Thief in which he portrays an ageing bank robber who tries to turn himself over to authorities in an attempt to go straight and live an honest life with the woman he loves. In the action-packed bullet-fest The Marksman, Neeson plays the role of a rancher who takes on murderous Mexican drug cartels.

Now 68, Neeson appears ripe for retirement, especially after more than 40 years in Tinseltown. But gauging from published media reports, the late-bloomer action hero appears to be just warming up for more ass-busting and gun-blasting action flicks in the coming months and in the next few years.

Guardian Angelina: Jolie’s transformation from Hollywood A-lister to humble humanitarian

As far as Hollywood A-listers go, few can match the long-lived success that Angelina Jolie has achieved. Having made her big screen debut at the tender age of seven and cast in her first leading role when just 20, the 44-year-old Tinseltown thespian has over 50 films and five directorial credits to her name. She’s also received countless accolades, including an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and three Golden Globes.

More than her numerous onscreen plaudits, though, Jolie seems to have found true fulfilment in an entirely different sphere of her life – humanitarianism. Indeed, few actresses have embraced charitable causes as wholeheartedly as the Maleficent star, with women’s rights, conservation, child immigration, education and human rights all falling under the purview of her philanthropic efforts since becoming a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2001. Speaking of her motive for joining the august body, she said: “We cannot close ourselves off to information and ignore the fact that millions of people are out there suffering. I honestly want to help. I don’t believe I feel differently from other people. I think we all want justice and equality, a chance for a life with meaning. All of us would like to believe that if we were in a bad situation, someone would help us.”

This drive to help others likely stems from Jolie’s own troubled upbringing. Born on 4 June 1975 to two thespian parents – US actor Jon Voight and French screen siren Marcheline Bertrand – she first debuted in a bit part alongside her father in the 1982 comedy, Lookin’ to Get Out. Yet, she was already estranged from Voight, who had abandoned the family when she was just one.

During her tumultuous childhood, she seldom showed any real inclination towards acting though. Something of a wilful child, she has said of her young self: “When other little girls wanted to be ballet dancers, I kind of wanted to be a vampire.”

“We cannot ignore the fact that millions of people are out there suffering. I honestly want to help”

Her teenage years turned out to be equally difficult. She attended Beverly Hills High School but felt isolated at the affluent school because her single mother had to make do on a more modest income. After repeated bullying, she dropped out at the age of 14, though she returned to finish her degree two years later. Jolie’s early attempts at modelling – at her mother’s urging – were also doomed to end in failure.

By the time she hit 20, Jolie had tried “just about every drug possible”, including heroin. She also confessed to suffering from depression, self-harming and having suicidal thoughts. Speaking of those difficult times, she reflected: “For some reason, the ritual of having cut myself and feeling the pain, maybe feeling alive, feeling some kind of release, it was somehow therapeutic to me.”

Despite these difficulties, Jolie still managed to get her fledgling onscreen career off the ground. After acting in her brother’s university movies and nailing a few big screen roles, she landed her first Hollywood starring role in 1995’s cult classic, Hackers. Two years later, she finally entered the big league with her Golden Globe Award-winning role in the TV biopic George Wallace (1997) and as supermodel Gia in the 1998 HBO movie by the same name. Her superb performance in the latter even had one renowned critic stating: “Jolie is fierce in her portrayal – filling the part with nerve, charm, and desperation – and her role in this film is quite possibly the most beautiful train wreck ever filmed.”

“I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity”

Yet even as her professional life soared to new heights, her personal life was anything but jubilant. Her first marriage to British actor and Hackers co-star Jonny Lee Miller lasted just three years. Her second marriage to actor Billy Bob Thornton (after a whirlwind romance in which she stole him away from his fiancé, actress Laura Dern, for whom the relationship’s demise came as a shock) was similarly short lived.

Despite the scandalous start to her next relationship with Brad Pitt (she was seen as the cause of death for the marriage of ‘America’s sweethearts’, Pitt and Jennifer Aniston), it seemed to have the makings of a true Hollywood happily-ever-after when she wed her Mr and Mrs Smith co-star in 2014. Sadly, after five years of marriage and six children together – including three biological offsprings and three adopted kids – the relationship once again ended in divorce.

And the misfortunes kept on piling up. Her mother – perhaps the biggest influence in Jolie’s life – suffered from breast cancer and eventually succumbed to ovarian cancer in 2007. After learning that she too had an 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer due to a defective BRCA1 gene in her DNA, Jolie made the difficult choice to undergo a preventative double masectomy surgery in 2013 in a bid to avoid suffering the same fate as her mother. While her decision certainly caused consternation in many corners, she had no regrets. In fact, she even wrote: “On a personal note, I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.”

Thankfully, despite her lack of luck in love and her health concerns, motherhood seemed to provide the actress with the stability she craved. Indeed, her fortuitous decision to accept the role of Lara Croft in the 2001 film adaptation of the Tomb Raider game saw her journey to Cambodia for its shooting. It was there that the spark to adopt her very own child began, ultimately leading to her adoption of Maddox, a Cambodian orphan, later that year. Speaking of that life-changing experience, she said: “It’s the greatest responsibility. It’s another life and you have to make sure they’re okay and they’re ready. There is nothing else you’re doing that is more important.”

That very same experience also kick-started Jolie’s interest in humanitarian causes. At the time, Cambodia was still reeling from the effects of war, and the suffering that Jolie witnessed there led her to contact the UNHCR upon her return to the United States. She soon became an ambassador for the organisation, and shortly thereafter, she began to visit refugee camps across the world, using her celebrity status to draw attention to the plight of the people there.

Jolie continues to juggle her humanitarian concern and the care of her six children with the considerable demands of her cinematic career. She has even found a way to combine the two, having made her directorial debut with the 2018 historical thriller, First They Killed My Father, an adaptation of a memoir by Loung Ung, who witnessed firsthand the atrocities of the Pol Pot regime and the Khmer Rouge as a child.

That’s not to say that she’s abandoned her onscreen calling either. She most recently reprised her role of Maleficent in the sequel to Disney’s live-action adaptation of Sleeping Beauty (Maleficent 2). Next up, she’s set to star in another fantasy mash up – combining the worlds of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan – in Come Away. Then, of course, she will join the gigantic Marvel Cinematic Universe as Thena in The Eternals (November 2020).

Throughout her career, Jolie has taken on roles that have been as engaging as they are varied – from adventurer to disturbed psych patient (Girl, Interrupted) to the voice of Tigress in Kung Fu Panda. However, it seems to be in the pursuit of her humanitarian passions that the actress has found her true calling as a ‘Guardian Angelina’.