Angelina Jolie's heartbreaking reason for disappearing from spotlight amid Brad Pitt divorce

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has explained why she's been missing from the spotlight for the last few years amid her divorce from Brad Pitt, which took eight years to complete

Undoubtedly set to be one of the most emotional movies of 2025, Angelina Jolie ’s latest blockbuster follows opera singer Maria Callas in the final days before her death in 1977. In the film, Maria retreats to Paris in the 1970s after a glamorous yet challenging life in the public eye, and 49-year-old Angelina says she was more than ready to tackle the role.

“I think the way in which I related to her might be a surprise,” Angelina says when talking to OK! and other international press about Maria, which has just hit cinemas. “It’s probably the part of her that’s extremely soft. She doesn’t have room in the world to be as soft as she truly was and as emotionally open as she truly was. I think I share her vulnerability more than anything.”

Adopting the part of Maria came with its challenges, especially when it came to learning to sing opera. But the Hollywood actress, who is best known for her roles in Disney’s Maleficent, as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider and as Thena in Marvel’s Eternals, was determined to give it her all despite her worries.

“Everybody knows I was terribly nervous,” Angelina admits, as she reveals she spent seven months training before even thinking about singing in public.

But she soon found out she had a hidden power. “I’m not as bad as I thought I was,” she laughs. “But, you know, I really had never tried. I think a lot of people haven’t, whether it be someone in your life who maybe suggested you couldn’t or you just never had the support of somebody saying you could. I’m sure a lot of people have never really tried and never had the support to help them through it.

“It was very emotional for me. And then terrifying. It was terrifying! The whole process. But what an amazing thing to accomplish. To go through your career and then find something at this stage in your life where you’re terrified as an artist. It’s amazing. I really loved singing. I found myself transported. But I haven’t sung since.”

With Angelina’s performance already being hailed as “legendary”, it could become one of her most critically acclaimed yet. In fact, there’s already Oscars buzz.

“For me, the bar where I would know if I did good enough would be from the Maria Callas fans and those who love opera,” Angelina says when asked if she was encouraged by the hype.

“My fear would be to disappoint them. So, of course, if there’s a response to the work then I’m very grateful, but in my heart, I would not want to disappoint the people who love her and the people she means a lot to — and her legacy. I really came to care for her, so I felt like I didn’t want to do a disservice to this woman.”

This wouldn’t be the first time the California-born star was recognised by the Academy — 25 years ago, her career switched into high gear after she won the Best Supporting Actress award for Girl, Interrupted. She was also nominated for the Best Actress Oscar in 2009 for her role in Changeling.

Humanitarian Angelina doesn’t just make hard-hitting films — she’s won a legion of young fans thanks to her voice roles in Kung Fu Panda and Shark Tale. But she says Maria, which explores the opera singer’s desire for children and her two devastating miscarriages, gave her something incredibly profound — a new connection with her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who died from ovarian cancer in 2007.

“It’s so deeply personal. It’s still hard, because I have such a memory of my mother when I sing Ave Maria,” she says. “I was allowed so much space to do that with Maria, think of my mother. So I’m not quite yet listening to it again. I look forward to that day. But now [with the film], I associate some of the songs with the memory of something I shared, and a time I shared with those pieces of music. And I love Maria. I really love this woman. When I hear her, she’s like a friend.”

Maria isn’t the only film that’s hitting screens for Angelina after taking some time out. She also directed war drama Without Blood, so how does she feel about being back in the spotlight with two big movies?

“To be honest, I have needed to be home more with my family these last years,” she explains. “In that time, I have maybe become more grateful to have the opportunity to be an artist and play; to be in this creative world. I am happy to be here and I’m grateful to be an artist in any way, so that’s how I’m feeling.”

It’s no secret that away from the screen, Angelina’s personal life has been rather tumultuous. She became half of Hollywood power couple ‘Brangelina’ when she got together with actor Brad Pitt, now 61. They tied the knot in 2014 in an intimate wedding with their six kids — Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne — with Angelina wearing a gown uniquely customised with their children’s artwork. However, the world was stunned when Angelina sought a divorce two years into their marriage.

The actress cited “irreconcilable differences” following an incident on a flight from Europe that saw her accusing Brad of being abusive towards her and their children — allegations he has consistently denied and for which he was cleared by investigative authorities.

Now, after eight long years, it appears the pair, who first met on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith in 2004, have finally reached a settlement in their divorce battle.

With all that in the past and whatever the outcome for Maria during awards season and at the box office, one thing Angelina will take away from the project is her respect and admiration for the music icon herself.

“There’s something I learned about her — that she couldn’t see,” says Angelina. “When someone looked at the prescription glasses she wore later in life, they said, ‘That lens, that prescription — this person’s almost legally blind.’

“When she was young, she couldn’t wear glasses and be on stage. It wasn’t accepted. She couldn’t say, ‘I can’t see the conductor. I can’t see this. I need my glasses.’ She had to say, ‘I’m fine. I can do it.’ And so she had to memorise that much more. What that really means is it says a lot about her as a worker. When you understand that, you see this person’s survival instinct.”