Celebrity life has a lot of glitz and glamour to it, with the top of the top being able to do just about anything they could ever want. These performers put in years of work to make it, and once they are at the top, the soon find themselves receiving a ton of coverage, as well. Stars like Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Swift all seem to dominate the headlines regularly.
Angelina Jolie has been one of the most famous women on the planet for years now, and Jolie knows a thing or two about massive media coverage. She has had every aspect of her life examined, including the relationship that she has with her faith, Jon Voight.
Let’s take a look and see why Jolie doesn’t go by Voight.
She’s Had A Rocky Past With Her Father
The dynamic between parent and child is one that is not always easy to maintain, and there has been plenty of coverage about Angelina Jolie’s relationship with her father. Things have not always been peachy between the two, and this was an early reason why Jolie chose to use her middle name.
According to Republic World, Jolie was raised by her mother, who had a fractured relationship with Voight. Issues between Voight and his daughter started so early on in life, and his lack of involvement in her daily life caused a cascade of problems between the pair over time.
Eventually, the pair would try and patch things up through the years, but things always seemed strained between the two. Despite working together on film projects, it seemed like there would never be full resolution here. This could not have been easy on either side, and things eventually took a turn for the worst.
Things wound up getting contentious enough for Jolie to tell Premiere, “My father and I don't speak. I don't hold any anger toward him. I don't believe that somebody's family becomes their blood. Because my son's adopted, and families are earned. When I had the final argument/disappointment with my father—we've had many off and on—I had thought we were breaking ground, and I realized we simply weren't.”
Those are some strong words from the actress, and it just goes to show how things were between them. Naturally, Jolie’s lack of relationship with her father growing up left her wanting to make a change to her name.
She Eventually Changed Her Name
Back in 2002, Angelina Jolie was making moves as an A-list star in Hollywood, far surpassing her father in terms of success and recognition. Despite this, the actress still wanted to shed the Voight name from her life.
EW reported that Jolie legally had Voight dropped from her name in 2002, marking a huge change for the actress. Their relationship was clearly in a bad place, and after years of not finding common ground, it must have felt great for the performer to leave that part of her identity behind.
During this time, despite having worked on the first Tomb Raider film together, Jolie would tell E!, “I don’t want to make public the reasons for my bad relationship with my father…. After all these years, I have determined that it is not healthy for me to be around my father, especially now that I am responsible for my own child.”
Again, strong words from Jolie during that era. Time is said to heal all wounds, but clearly, things between these two were worse than some people thought. However, there would be moments that seemed to indicate that maybe they could make amends.
They Seem To Have Made Amends
After spending years in a rocky relationship, things would eventually turn around for Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie. Unfortunately, it took the passing of Jolie’s mother to bring them closer together.
According to Independent, this took place back in 2007, so it has been some time since the pair were on better terms. Tragedy is never a good thing, but in this instance, it wound up causing a change between Jolie and Voight. As rough as the 90s and early 2000s were for their relationship, they did find their way to being closer than ever.
In 2017, Jolie would speak on her relationship with her father to The Hollywood Reporter, saying they “have gotten to know each other – through grandchildren now.”
While things may never be perfect between these two, it is still nice to hear that they have made amends and have improved their relationship. She will probably never go back to being called Voight ever again, but having a relationship with her father is far more important than a name.