Angelina Jolie Says She's 'Not an Artist First, I’m a Mom' as She Talks Wanting to Be a 'Guide for My Children'

The actress is a mom to sons Maddox, 23, and Pax, 20, and daughters Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16

Angelina Jolie's number one priority is being a mom.

While chatting with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the release of her new film Maria, the actress, 49, shared that she places her job as a mother of six above being an artist. Jolie, who is mom to sons Maddox, 23, and Pax, 20, daughters Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16, emphasizes the importance of using her voice as an activist to create a better world for her little ones.

"I am not an artist first, I’m a mom," Jolie told the outlet. "And I’m somebody who has tried to have a better education on foreign policy. I think of the amount of times it’s been summarized, 'You’re an artist, but you also use your voice,' you feel like, that’s just being a person."

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For Jolie, "being a person" means that she's constantly trying to learn more to help raise her children to be better and to live in a better world.

"I’m trying to understand what is happening within our world, why so many things are the way they are. I’m trying to understand how to best be a guide for my children, to make sure that they are good people," she said, though she added, "I don’t often feel like I’m doing enough."

She continued, "So when you say, 'You use your voice,' I feel like there are so many things I don’t quite know how to do or say at this time."

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Elsewhere in the interview, Jolie expressed how working on Maria brought on some "heavy moments," leading her sons — who did assistant directing work on the movie — to see their mom cry in a way they hadn't seen before.

"I’ve been a parent for 23 years. The most beautiful thing about being a parent is that you are not the center of your life. So you are leaving set, focused on something for someone. That’s your real life. Your real world. And that always is the majority of who you are," Jolie told the outlet, adding, "I have never had a set where my family is not allowed to be there because I’m focusing — I’m not that person. You can climb all over me or visit."

She continued to share that having her sons working with her on Maria "really meant a lot to her," as they were there to support her through tough times on set.

"It really meant a lot that my boys were with me on Maria. When I would have really heavy times, they would come over and just give me a hug or a cup of tea. That was probably one of the more intense things was that — usually when I’m expressing that much pain, it’s not in front of my children," she admitted. "You really try to hide from your children how much pain and sadness you carry. And so for them to be with you when you’re expressing it at such a level, I think it was the first time they ever heard me cry like that."

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