Brad And Angelina
When people think of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt what do you think their immediate thought is? Are they better known for the charity work that they do or for the huge family they've raised? It's most likely the charity work. But then is adopting a form of charity in a way? Throughout their relationship and their marriage, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have done their best to raise their children. But then their daughter, Shiloh, was thrust into the spotlight.
Angelina Jolie decided to adopt her first child, an orphan born in Cambodia, after a heart-wrenching divorce with her former husband, Billy Bob Thornton. So in 2002 Maddox join the Jolie family. Three years Jolie wanted another child to add to her family and so she adopted again. Zahara was also an orphan and was born in Ethiopia. Now Jolie had two children.
Building The Family
Jolie raised Maddox as a single mother while she was divorcing Billy Bob Thornton. After raising Maddox for a little while Brad Pitt entered the picture.
Soon afterward they both adopted Ethiopian orphan Zahara and people's intrigue was caught. But they still wanted a child with the parents' genes.
Escaping the Media
After Brad and Angelina were a couple, unsurprisingly, the paparazzi were all over them, everywhere the couple went, they followed. They couldn't enjoy the quiet life they wanted.
Anywhere the couple decided to go they wouldn't be left alone. They would get captured on camera everywhere and almost anyone with a camera phone couldn't pass up the opportunity to take their photo.
To Africa
The couple had had enough, soon they find themselves so overwhelmed by the paparazzi that they had to relocate just for the birth of their first genetic child. So they packed their bags and went off to Namibia.
As one can imagine, this didn't go down well with everyone who wanted a glimpse of their child. The couple thought that it would be hard to be followed by unwanted eyes if they stayed in Africa up until Jolie gave birth.
Expanding
Any normal couple would say that three children are more than enough, right? Well, that wasn't the case for Pitt and Jolie. Just having three children wasn't good enough for them.
Their youngest child at the time was Shiloh, she was born in Namibia in 2006 and the couple was ecstatic. Then they decided that they wanted another child, and at the same time, they'd help a child in need. They decided to adopt again, this time it was an orphan from Vietnam. His name was Pax
Adoption Difficulties
Even though Angelina and Brad's family was now very diverse with ties across the world, she loved all of her children and made sure they and everyone else understood that. They are all her children, it's as simple as that.
In fact, the couple faced complications when they decided that they wanted to adopt another child. This only made them all the more driven to get the child.
Adopting In Ethiopia
Even though both of the parents are A-list Celebrities. That doesn't mean they can skip the processes that everyone who wants to adopt has to go through. When they wanted to adopt Zahara in Ethiopia, there was met with many challenges.
Brad bonded with Jolie's children in a wonderful way and since the couple felt that they were going strong, Brad announced that he was going to adopt the children as his own.
From Jolie To Jolie-Pitt
So after Brad had adopted the children, Jolie and he decided that their last name's would be changed to be Jolie-Pitt. This was a big step for the couple that everyone loved.
The paparazzi were quick on their feet and soon people knew about the Jolie-Pitt decision. Their reactions were all good and the name was thought to be affectionate. The joint name only reminded fans about when the couple first started dating and they were being called Brangelina.
Exciting News
So when Jolie first got pregnant, fans were already over the moon with her adopting children to call her own. But when they found out she was pregnant couldn't contain their excitement.
The couple was trying their best to not get caught in headlines when they started dating. But when it did the attention on them was enormous, there were considered one of the best Hollywood couples. But it was a choice their children made to be caught up all the attention.
Where It All Began
If we look at the first time Brad and Angelina met it's actually quite awkward. They were co-stars in the film Mr. & Mrs. Smith and they had to do the movie together.
What makes things awkward though is that Brad was a married man at the time. His wife was non-other than Jennifer Aniston.
Affair Rumors
What started such a huge sensation on the media was when Brad decided to divorce Jennifer when their marriage wasn't working. You can already think of the scandals that came after.
The media spread rumors of infidelity between Brad and Angelina, but she denied them by saying, “To be intimate with a married man, when my own father cheated on my mother, is not something I could forgive.”
Much Anticipated Birth
For a while people were on either side of the fence, either being team Jennifer or team Jolie. The backlash against Jolie stopped abruptly when they heard news that she was pregnant.
Now people knew that the relationship that Brad had with Angelina was serious. People seemingly stopped the hate and everyone was excited to see their child as soon as it was born. But the couple decided to somewhere more quiet, Namibia. Their baby girl was born on May 27th, 2006.
Photos For Charity
Of course, the photos of their newborn babies were going to sell like hotcakes. The couple ended up selling some photos of the baby with the proceeds all going to charity.
Now, isn’t that a wonderful way to welcome their baby into the world?
Tight Security
Actually, the media had made plenty of failed attempts to catch pictures on their own of the baby. Luckily, with the help of the local authorities, the couple kept paparazzi away.
Not even reporters were allowed to enter the area of the hospital. Only people with written permission from the couple could gain access.
An Incident
At one stage there was quite a commotion but nobody knew what was going on past the security screens.
Then it was revealed that a rogue photographer attempted to sneak his way into the hospital. He was caught and arrested.
Big Reveal
Brad and Angelina stayed with baby Shiloh in the country of Namibia for a bit, all the while media outlets in America continued to anxiously await. This had them all speculating if the couple had signed a specific deal for the first photos of the baby or not.
At last, as we mentioned, the couple indeed sold the baby’s photos through Getty Images. Therefore, the pictures made it to Hello! and People magazines for an unbelievable sum. Don’t worry, as we said, all the money was given to charity.
Media Frenzy
Naturally, the world thought the excitement would eventually die down. However, they could not be more wrong.
There was something shocking in the works that even the couple themselves didn’t know about.
A Wax Figure
In fact, Madame Tussauds even made a wax figure of the baby! In defense of this decision, manager Janine DiGioacchino said, “Even though she’s just a few months old, Shiloh is already an iconic figure in the world of popular culture.”
It seemed to some as a bit absurd to say a newborn was an icon. Then, this child continued to be the fascination of the public for other reasons.
Not Quite Done
Much to everyone’s shock, the couple made another big decision once they returned home from Namibia.
Apparently, something did not feel quite right. Thus, they decided to adopt yet another child.
Adopting Pax
It had been less than one year since the birth of Shiloh and Angelina adopted Pax, a three-year-old orphan from Vietnam.
If you’re wondering, Angelina needed to adopt as a single parent because Vietnam has a law that doesn’t allow couples who are not married to adopt.
The Jolie-Pitt Family
Once they returned to America, Pitt could legally adopt Pax. So in 2008, Brad Pitt became a father to another son. Now, as a family of six, the Jolie-Pitt family became an iconic image of a diverse and loving unit.
In a telling statement, Jolie commented on the appearances of her blended family, “Shiloh looks like Brad,” jokingly she added, “it’s funny because she’s almost going to be the outcast in the family because she’s blonde and blue-eyed.”
Growing And Changing
As expected, the paparazzi could not get enough of the parents out and about with young Shiloh. As a toddler, many speculated she would obviously inherit the good looking genes of her parents.
However, fans wanted to guess which parent Shiloh would resemble more.
Mom Or Dad?
Though Angelina claimed Shiloh looked like Brad, with more photos, fans began comparing Shiloh to a younger Angelina Jolie.
Despite this, the child still could transform in many ways in the years to come.
An Announcement
Everyone’s attention was on Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, until Brad and Angelina had more big news in May of 2008. During the Cannes Film Festival, a glowing Angelina Jolie told the world she was expecting twins.
Now, the world prepared itself for more babies resembling Shiloh.
Next Came The Twins
Then July 12, 2008, the twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline were born. This time, Brad and Angelina made a deal with the media and ended up selling the photos for $14 million!
Again, the proceeds went to their charity, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.
A Young Brad
Since the twins were sheltered from the public, the spotlight remained on young Shiloh. When seen in the public next, this young girl radiated with blue eyes and blonde hair, resembling her father, Brad Pitt. Everyone remarked on how much the child looked like a younger Brad Pitt.
People began seeing Shiloh as a daddy’s girl, but especially because Shiloh preferred to even dress like her father.
Non-Traditional Style
Whenever young Shiloh appeared on the red carpet for her parents’ films, she wore a suit.
While Angelina and her sisters wore girly dresses, Shiloh often appeared more sophisticated in a masculine looking outfit.
Her Hair Too
It wasn’t just her clothing that was different, Shiloh’s blonde hair was cut into a style modeled after Brad’s look.
Sadly, the media was not kind in their commentary on Shiloh’s choice of masculine style even though she was just a child.
The Tabloids
Soon enough, tabloids began publishing cover stories that questioned the parenting styles of Brad and Angelina.
The magazine Life & Style published a cover in March 2010 that dared to ask, “Why Is Angelina Turning Shiloh Into A Boy?”
Media Crosses Boundary
Then, the article even had family representatives claiming a lack of ‘gender distinction’ could harm young kids.
Of course, many responded by questioning how appropriate it is to cover a young child in this light and asked for Shiloh to be left out of tabloids.