Having recently earned a Golden Globe nomination for her role in Girl, Interrupted (opening here January 20), and still riding high from her box-office hit The Bone Collector, it would seem that for Hollywood's latest glamour girl Angelina Jolie, life couldn't get any better &endash; except for one thing. "I still have no-one to have sex with," declares the actress, whose outspoken personality could intimidate even the most secure of men. "Well I'd like to believe that's why I have no sex life," she laughs. "But I don't have everything. I don't have that ultimate love in my life."
At 24, Angelina has experienced more than many twice her age. She was married to British actor Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting) shortly after they met while co-starring in the movie Hackers when she was 20. Although the marriage was short lived, Angelina has no regrets.
"I'm still proud to have been his wife," she says. "I haven't had many boyfriends. My first one was from the age of 14 to 16, and then I married Jonny. He was my second lover. After that, I've been pretty much alone. I haven't had many lovers at all." Allegedly, the demise of her marriage came during the filming of the telemovie Gia (in which she played a heroin addicted supermodel). Angelina threw herself into the role and, in doing so, refused to speak with her then husband. It understandably took a toll on the marriage. "I still think he's one of the most amazing people I've ever met," she sighs.
The proud owner of more than eight tattoos, the unconventional Angelina has an unusual hobby of collecting knives, and speaks openly about her bisexuality. "I've had lovers that are women. I love women," she shrugs. "It's not something I think about. I didn't know I liked women until I met one that I wanted to kiss, and if I started dating a woman, I'd probably be considered gay. But it's about the person, not their gender."
Born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Oscar-winner Jon Voight (Coming Home, Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance) and former actress Marcheline Bertrand, her parents separated when she was two. With her older brother James, now an aspiring director, they moved with their mother to New York. Embarking on an acting career, Angelina chose to use her middle name instead of her surname. "I wanted to make it on my own," she explains. "I didn't want to ride on the back of dad."
Co-starring with Winona Ryder in Girl, Interrupted, about a group of girls in a mental institution in the 60's, Angelina plays out-of-control, colourful Lisa. She's so convincing, she's been described as "the female Jack Nicholson", recalling his famed role in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. "Lisa being locked up because of her passion was very upsetting for me," she says. "I feel I have everything in common with her, but I also have other sides which make me different from her."
Angelina's candidness has surprised Hollywood. Her flamboyant persona has more in common with rock stars like Courtney Love than her contemporaries Winona Ryder or Gwyneth Paltrow, who would sooner run naked through the streets than discuss their personal lives.
"I don't understand artists that don't communicate as much as I do, because in some ways, it's saved my life," says Angelina. "You can hide or you can go through things and talk openly. I feel nurtured by other people by shouting out my feelings, and, in doing that, I've got to know people on such a huge level."
As her celebrity status grows, Angelina's sex life has been constantly scrutinized. "I know I present myself as many things," she says. "I'm very sexual, yet I've always been monogamous.
"I feel both masculine and feminine. I relate to the `hunter aspect' that most men have in their personalities, and the less maternal qualities. That's probably why most of my friends are men. I understand that side of men that encompasses the lone person. I have the restless spirit of a man."
However that doesn't mean she's not occasionally into "girlie" things. "I have fun putting on a dress and walking down the red carpet. Sometimes, I'm ridiculously female," she laughs.
And in her free time, Angelina reads self-help books. "I feel like we're here to learn about each other. Sometimes, I think I'm too passionate, but that's the only way I know how to exist."
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