Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt kids
On March 10, 2002, Jolie adopted her first child, seven-month-old Maddox Chivan.
He was born on August 5, 2001 as Rath Vibol in Cambodia, and he initially
lived in a local orphanage in Battambang. Jolie decided to apply for adoption
after she had visited Cambodia twice, while filming Tomb Raider and on a UNHCR
field trip in 2001. After her divorce from her second husband, Billy Bob
Thornton, Jolie received sole custody of Maddox. Like Jolie's other children,
Maddox has gained considerable celebrity and appears regularly in the tabloid media.
Jolie adopted a six-month-old girl from Ethiopia, Zahara Marley, on July 6, 2005.
Zahara was born on January 8, 2005. She was originally named Yemsrach by her
mother, and was later given the legal name Tena Adam at an orphanage.Jolie
adopted her from Wide Horizons For Children orphanage in Addis Ababa.
Shortly after they returned to the United States, Zahara was
hospitalized for dehydration and malnutrition. In 2007, media
outlets reported Zahara's biological mother, Mentewabe Dawit,
was still alive and wanted her daughter back, but she later
denied these reports, saying she thought Zahara was "very
fortunate" to be adopted by Jolie.
Brad Pitt was reportedly present when Jolie signed the adoption papers
and collected her daughter; later Jolie indicated that she and Pitt
made the decision to adopt Zahara together. On January 19, 2006,
a judge in California approved Pitt's request to legally adopt
Jolie's two children. Their surnames were formally changed to "Jolie-Pitt".
Jolie gave birth to a daughter, Shiloh Nouvel, in Swakopmund, Namibia, by a
scheduled caesarean section, on May 27, 2006. Pitt confirmed that their
newly-born daughter would have a Namibian passport, and Jolie decided
to sell the first pictures of Shiloh through the distributor Getty Images
herself, rather than allowing paparazzi to make these valuable photographs.
People paid more than $4.1 million for the North American rights, while
British magazine Hello! obtained the international rights for roughly
$3.5 million. All profits were donated to an undisclosed charity
by Jolie and Pitt. Madame Tussauds in New York unveiled a wax
figure of two-month-old Shiloh; it was the first infant re-created
in wax by Madame Tussauds.
On March 15, 2007, Jolie adopted a three-year-old boy from Vietnam,
Pax Thien, who was born on November 29, 2003 and abandoned at birth
at a local hospital, where he was initially named Pham Quang Sang.
Jolie adopted the boy from the Tam Binh orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City.
She revealed that his first name, Pax, was suggested by her mother before her death.
Following months of tabloid speculation, Jolie confirmed she was expecting
twins at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. She gave birth to a boy, Knox Léon,
and a girl, Vivienne Marcheline, by caesarean section at the Lenval hospital
in Nice, France, on July 12, 2008. The rights for the first images of
Knox and Vivienne were jointly sold to People and Hello! for
$14 million—the most expensive celebrity pictures ever taken.
The money went to the Jolie/Pitt Foundation.
They are just 3 weeks old, but twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline are about to take the world by storm.
In an exclusive interview and photos, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie offer PEOPLE an
intimate look at their growing family.
"It is chaos, but we are managing it and having a
wonderful time," Jolie tells PEOPLE of daily life
at the Château Miraval in Provence, France, where
the couple's four older children – Maddox, 6, Pax,
4, Zahara, 3, and Shiloh, 2 – have been enjoying a
summer of outdoor play (hide-and-seek is a favorite)
on the château's sprawling grounds.
Adds Pitt: "[It's] still a cuckoo's nest."
Fortunately, they already have some household helpers.
"Shiloh and Z pick out the twins' clothes and
help change and hold them," says Jolie. "It's sweet –
they are little mommies."
For the complete story, including 19 pages of
intimate family photos and the full interview
with Brad and Angelina, pick up this issue
here
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