Angelina Jolie Reveals Why She Chose to Sell the First Photos of Twins Vivienne and Knox

Mar. 15, 2025

WhenAngelina Joliesold the photos of her newborn twins in 2008, she had one reason in mind.

TheMariastar, 49, spoke during a panel at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Wednesday, Feb. 5, and was asked about the time she sold photos of her then-newborn twinsKnoxandVivienneto PEOPLE andHello!magazine to benefit charity.

“It’s a strange thing to have to do or to do, but it was kind of the better option, but also it was for their safety,” Jolie shared. “It was that somebody was coming for it and it was a safety concern as well.”

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“It was just better to control it in a safe place, in a safe way,” she continued. “And do something good with it, obviously, if you can. That’s much better.”

Jolie and her then-husbandBrad Pittdonated the money they received to their charity, The Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

The star and her ex-husband share six kids —Maddox, 23,Pax, 21,Zahara, 20,Shiloh, 18, and twinsKnox LéonandVivienne Marcheline, 16.

Later in the panel, Jolie shared whether or not shethought her kids would follow in her footsteps, saying that she didn’t think that any of her six children had an “affinity” for movies.

Angelina Jolie (right) and Vivienne.Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

“No. I don’t know, that’s not my doing,” Jolie, who received the Maltin Modern Master Award at the Festival, said. “I always wanted them to be around film because I wanted them to know as a part of — it’s such a wonderful family, to be creative, to be an artist, to be… They’re not interested.”

“They really don’t like any of the celebrity part of it, especially Shiloh hates it,” she added. “I think in a very healthy way they don’t … It’s not a normal thing. It’s a silly thing really.”

However,The Eternalsactress also noted that it didn’t mean her kids haven’t connected with the art of film in their own ways.

“Yes, they’ve been on set with me,” Jolie continued while appearing on the panel. “And some of them dance, some of them paint, some of them love theater, but none of them are dying to be on screen.”

source: people.com