Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Angelina Jolie has revealed how a hitman asked her one question which ended up saving her life.
The Maleficent actor, 49, opened up about a dark time in her life when she considered paying a stranger to kill her.
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Jolie thought that if she was killed by a hitman, it would somehow be easier for her family to come to terms with her death.
She told The Face in 2003: "They’re [hitmen] not that hard to find in New York. As insane as it sounds, I think a lot of people consider suicide when they’re young.
"I was very aware that so many people around me, like my mother, would feel as though they didn’t give enough or do enough, if I’d taken my own life.
"So my solution to that was if someone else had taken my life – like in a ‘robbery’ – then it would be murder and it wouldn’t be that anyone would feel they’d let me down."
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The film star explained that she had made a plan to withdraw cash from her account in small instalments, so that she wasn't taking out a large chunk all at once.
However, everything changed when the hitman she was going to hire asked a question that ultimately saved her life.
"He was a decent enough person and asked if I could think about it and call him again in two months," she said. "Something changed in my life and I figured I’d stick it out."
Jolie, of course, went on to be one of the biggest names in Hollywood and now has six children - Maddox, 23, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne - who she shares with ex, Brad Pitt.
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Pitt and Jolie met on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith which they both starred in.
After getting married in 2014, the pair announced they were separating back in 2016, and finally reached a settlement after eight long years.
On 30 December, 2024, Jolie's attorney James Simon revealed that the couple had come to an agreement.
“More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr Pitt,” Mr Simon said in a statement. “She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family.
“This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over.”
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Additional words by Lucy Devine.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Topics: Angelina Jolie, Celebrity
Anish Vij