Angelina Jolie, Renaissance Woman, Can Also Fly and Land a Plane
As a crusader for refugees, a devoted mother of six, and a women’s rights activist, Angelina Jolie is a modern-day renaissance person. So much so that, at this point, her Oscar-winning acting is simply an afterthought. So you’d be forgiven for not knowing that Jolie also happens to be a seasoned pilot, as she reminded the world in ITV’s The Queen’s Green Planet, which aired last night.
Jolie not only knows how to maneuver a plane—during sunset in the Namibia desert, no less—she can also flawlessly land one. “It’s beautiful…I think it’s the most beautiful place in the world,” Jolie said to her copilot while up in the sky. As breathtaking as the views were, they weren’t exactly something to celebrate. Jolie lifted off to take notice of how rapidly the desert is growing in the wake of climate change. “Even in the last decade [climate change] is so noticeable, and the expanding deserts,” she said. “I love the deserts, but we don’t want it expanding in such a way.”
In the same documentary, Jolie spoke at length about the environment, even revealing how Queen Elizabeth II’s conservation efforts have inspired her and her children. “For us to come here and say to the children, ‘This is why it’s important to plant a tree,’ that’s the biggest message I can teach my kids, and it’s something that they’ve certainly learned from Her Majesty and her message,” she said.
As for her pilot skills, Jolie has actually been certified to fly since 2004. (Though she had a brief hiatus while waiting for her paperwork to get renewed in 2013, which was, for some reason, a news item at the time, as E! reported.) It was in the U.K. that Jolie first took up lessons. “I learned to fly a few years ago in England,” she told Vanity Fair in 2010. “When Maddox was one and a half, we used to go to the airfield, have lunch, and watch the planes. And it dawned on me: I could fly. So I promised him I would fly by his second birthday.” Her favorite part about flying? “It’s the only place I’m completely alone—up in the air, detached from everything.” No doubt that matters now more than ever, as her and her estranged husband Brad Pitt’s personal lives have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of their separation.
Related: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Will Continue to Run Miraval Wine
See Angelina Jolie’s Beauty Transformation Through the Years
Angelina Jolie at the premiere of Playing God in New York, New York, October 1997. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the Screen Actors Guild awards in Los Angeles, California, March 1999. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the premiere of Original Sin in Los Angeles, California, July 2001. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the premiere of Beyond Borders in New York, New York, October 2003. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the premiere of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow in Hollywood, California, September 2004. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the premiere of Mr. and Mrs. Smith in Los Angeles, California, June 2005. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the premiere of Ocean’s Thirteen at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on January 27, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the 81st Academy Awards in 2009. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the Salt premiere in London, England, August 2010. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the 84th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, February 2012. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the 2012 Golden Globes. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the premiere of Maleficent in Hollywood, California, May 2014. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie at the premiere of Kung Fu Panda 3 in Hollywood, California, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie arrives to the The Breadwinner premiere at 2017 TIFF held on September 10, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie attends The 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie attends The 23rd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on January 11, 2018 in Santa Monica, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie attends the EE British Academy Film Awards held at Royal Albert Hall on February 18, 2018 in London, England. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie attends a Service of Commemoration and Dedication marking the 200th Anniversary of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George at St Paul’s Cathedral on June 28, 2018 in London, England. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Angelina Jolie attends the premiere of Disney’s Dumbo at El Capitan Theatre on March 11, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
