Angelina Jolie talks about Brad as a father, almost losing Shiloh and her hopes for the future

Angelina talks about changes in life, Brad as a father and loving the life that she is living.

Life has changed for me many times over in the last few years. You know, I wake up every day and I don't know how I had the good fortune to end up with my life. My kids are so lovely and so healthy, I have a wonderful relationship with a man who is a great father and a really supportive partner. My life is so good, but there's always a part of me that wonders when it's all going to go away. That's hard. But I try not to give in to that. I don't feel that all the time. Instead, I wake up and just try to remember to be grateful every day for everything I have. That's how to cope.

However, don't be mistaken by thinking that this makes her a woman with less of a heart. Just because she doesn't show emotion, doesn't mean that she hasn't or doesn't know how to with tragedy.

I sometimes think that strength is misinterpreted as having less of a heart, which is a mistake. People get too used to people crying on TV talk shows. They were expecting a performance; [Marianne Pearl] was focused on getting her husband back. If she'd started crying, she never would have been able to stand up again. I can understand it completely. I was like that with Shiloh. She was in hospital and, at one point, we thought we were going to lose her. I didn't cry until I knew she was okay and then I had a huge breakdown with all the stress of the whole thing. Before we knew she was okay, I wouldn't go to that dark place. I didn't want to confront the reality. You just can't bear to think about it. You just can't.

Angelina also talks about her life as a celebrity child and how she hopes that soon enough the attention on her, Brad and their family will be drawn away.

I had [a celebrity childhood], with my father. Celebrity was very different at that time, though. And I was lucky. At the time of his Midnight Cowboy and Coming Home, I was a baby. By the time I was really aware of it, he was working a lot less, so it was easier. I think, we're hoping that by the time the kids are a little older, we'll have kind of faded a bit more into the background. Therefore, in their teens, by the time they understand it all, it will be a little less invasive.

Such a lifestyle means that the children are sometimes denied doing activities -- but international travel means new experiences and opportunities for adventures.

Now, it can be difficult. We might be taking the kids to school or taking them home and drive by a park or an ice-cream shop, and the children want to jump out, but we can't, as there are too many people around. That's hard to explain to them. But we travel a lot and, in some countries, we can be a little more normal.

Angelina says that she is proud of being an actress and humanitarian but above all her most important job, is that of being a mother to her four adorable and wonderful children.

I do love being an artist, but it's not the core of who I am as a human being. I would say being a mother comes first.

Being involved in such global issues has made Angelina aware of the importance of travel and discovering new places and understanding cultures.

Also, I want my kids to be able to see these countries. I loved being in Pakistan, I had a beautiful time there. But cultures are disappearing, great histories are being lost, great lands are being destroyed in a way that we can't travel to them, see them or learn about them. I understand this idea of globalization, us working more together and how certain things might fall to the side, but we really need to do everything we can to preserve the beautiful differences that we have. I think about my kids and wonder, the way today's world is developing, will they be able to go to that part of the world in the future? Life is so good for us, and I want to do everything I can to keep it that way.

Source: Women's Weekly, Sep 2007 issue, pg 56-60.

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