Celebritology Archive: Brangelina

Why We All Want Angelina (Or Do We?)

The object of our affection: Jolie with partner Brad Pitt at Cannes in May. (Getty Images) Angelina Jolie is the prototypical feminist. That's why, says Naomi Wolf in an essay in the July issue of Harper's Bazaar, we all -- men and women alike -- want her: Polls also show that if women — not just lesbian and bisexual women but straight women — had to choose a female lover, they would want to sleep with Angelina Jolie. In other words, women both identify with her and desire her. Why? According to Wolf, Jolie is perhaps the first celebrated woman to embody the often contradictory images of a woman as good and nurturing and a sexual goddess. For some reason the term humanitarian dominatrix comes to mind. Wolf attributes Jolie's power to the deft handling of her own image; especially for emerging from the brother-kissing, blood-in-a-vial-around-your-neck wild child to...

Comment Box: Is Angelina to Blame for the Octomom?

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie lead their children through Japan's Narita International Airport in January. (Getty Images) In the wake of the recent birth of IVF octuplets in Southern California, I wonder where you think the bright line should fall for deciding when celebrities' children are off-limits for snarking and when they're fair game? [Snip] And evidently Octomom was looking for an outpouring of publicity and support, and seems to be trying to channel (if not surpass) Angelina Jolie, and now even has a website seeking donations. So, where's the line on kids, Liz? -- Nosy Parker I'm pretty sure I'm on record about where the line is vis-a-vis celebrity kid stalking, but to recap: If Katie Holmes strolls calmly down a New York street with Suri, knowing she will be swarmed by photographers, then Suri is fair game. The celeb (in this case Holmes) knows what she is...

Angie vs. Jen: Brad Pitt Weighs In. Again.

Bravo Brad Pitt. (AP) A scant week into the new year and my resolution to leave behind the Angelina Jolie vs. Jennifer Aniston debate is already toast. This time it is Brad Pitt stirring up the now fully charred embers of controversy. In February's W magazine, Pitt reportedly does his level best to keep this four-year-old wound from healing. Ripped from the New York Post's Page Six: Brad Pitt wants to set one thing straight regarding his wife Angelina Jolie: She's not a homewrecker. "What people don't understand is that we filmed ['Mr. & Mrs. Smith'] for a year. We were still filming after Jen [Aniston] and I split up," he tells W in the annual "A-List" February issue. "Even then it doesn't mean that there was some kind of dastardly affair. There wasn't. I'm very proud of the way that it was handled. It was respectful." (Full Item)...

Comment Box: In Which We Again Consider the Question 'Is The Brangelina Brood Too Big?'

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, sans kids, attend the Oct. 4 premiere of Jolie's new movie, 'The Changeling,' in New York. (Reuters) Welcome back to the on-going, years-spanning debate about Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and a growing cast of children. As expected, last week's hint from Jolie that she and Pitt may be considering another adoption -- this would bring their brood up to seven -- set readers off on another round of back-and-forth over whether or not the couple is saving the world one kid at a time or recklessly stockpiling kids. The reaction, not surprisingly, was mostly negative. Said one Celebritology Live chatter, "I barely have enough time to spend quality time with my three cats and Brangelina wants seven plus kids! Sorry, they're nuts." Bawlmer agreed, adding an opinion to Thursday's Morning Mix: "Angie, I like you, but your crazy is starting to show. This is...

Brangelina Brood: And Babies Make Six

A very pregnant Angelina Jolie with partner Brad Pitt in May at the Cannes Film Festival. (Reuters) Over the weekend, Angelina Jolie gave birth to the latest additions to the already too-big-for-a-booth brood they haul around the world. On Sunday, the mega-star -- currently bending bullets in "Wanted" -- apparently laughed and talked (c'est rien!) as fraternal boy-girl twins were delivered via c-section in Nice. Papa Brad Pitt was on hand to cut the umbilical cord, though rumor has it Pitt barred Jolie's kissable brother James Haven from the delivery room. Despite our hard work compiling a list of possible names for the newborns, Brad and Angie settled on Vivienne Marcheline (the middle name a likely tribute to Jolie's mom, Marcheline Bertrand, who died in 2007) for their new daughter and Knox Leon (possibly a tribute to Pitt's favorite gelatin and "Airplane"?) for their son. The inevitable bidding war...

Comment Box: Celeb Parents, the Most Selfish of All?

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie with son Maddox and daughter Zahara stroll in Mumbai in November 2006. (AP) Today in the comment box we expand on a debate hatched in last Thursday's Celebritology Live discussion -- a debate that might have engulfed the chat in a maelstrom of parental opinion-making had it been any other day but a pre-holiday afternoon. As it was, we were able to keep the discussion productive. Let's hope for the same tone below (hint hint). Why open a potential can of worms? Because, from time to time, we need to squirm a bit. Considering the makeshift camp of paparazzi encamped in Nice awaiting the birth of the Brangelina twins, I asked: "Is it selfish for someone like Angelina, who is such a paparazzi magnet, to have kids at all?" Some, like the reader below, were quick to argue that Angie and Brad -- who...

Older Entries in This Category »

Wednesday List: Name Brangelina's New Additions, Liz , July 2, 2008

Big Time Blame Shifting, Liz , June 21, 2007

Angelina Jolie, Womb Raider?, Liz , March 14, 2007

Angelina Jolie: Purty as a Picture, Liz , January 4, 2007

Overblown Rumor of the Summer: Brangelina Breakup?, Liz , August 23, 2006

Comment Box: What's Brangelina's Sign?, Liz , June 12, 2006