Angelina Jolie Says She Lives in LA Because of Her Divorce: ‘I Have to Be Here’

Angelina Jolie is not exactly an Angeleno by choice. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 49-year-old actor revealed she lives in LA “because I have to be here from a divorce.”

Jolie has been wrapped up in contentious legal battles with Brad Pitt since their split in 2016—including disputes over their winery and custody of their six children: Maddox, 23; Pax, 20; Zahara, 19; Shiloh, 18; and 16-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox. Just last year, Jolie revealed she cut back on her filming schedule seven years ago in order to focus on her children’s needs—and right now, that includes residing in Los Angeles.

“As soon as [the twins] are 18, I’ll be able to leave,” she told THR. When you have a big family, you want them to have privacy, peace, safety. I have a house now to raise my children, but sometimes this place can be…that humanity that I found across the world is not what I grew up with here.”

In the future, Jolie says she’ll “spend a lot of time in Cambodia,” adding, “I’ll spend time visiting my family members wherever they may be in the world.”

No matter where she’s living, Angelina Jolie’s children are always top of mind—even when it comes to her film career. After her new film, Maria, and some other projects, Jolie hopes to take on “some bigger directing projects” and try her hand at playing a “villain.” And no, Maleficent doesn’t count.

“She’s a good guy. My villains end up being good guys. I suppose every villain is usually just someone in pain,” she said. “To be honest, it would be nice to just do something maybe a little lighter. So my children can hear me laugh a little more. As an artist, there’s a part of me that thinks I would like to find a way to do something that would make people smile.”