This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at USFSP chapter.

In 1999, she was Lisa in Girl, Interrupted. In 2001, she was Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. Her name has been prevalent in the media recently as her marriage to actor Brad Pitt comes to an end. Her name is Angelina Jolie and she is one of the most recognizable actresses of our time, but many who are familiar with her acting career know little about her refugee work.

Photo courtesy of Marco Di Lauro

In the same year that Tomb Raider was filmed, Jolie became a UN Goodwill Ambassador and ever since then, she has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and advocate for refugees across the world. Within the last 11 years, she has traveled to multiple countries and completed 50 field missions.

Afghanistan, October 2008 (Marco Di Lauro)

In the early days of her trips to refugee camps, she became startled by the drastic difference between the everyday lives of the people she met and the lifestyles of people in more fortunate countries. In an effort to raise awareness and provide a voice for those she encountered, Jolie began writing journals about what she saw, who she met, and what their lives were like. Today, she has seven published journals on the UNHCR website in which she describes the experience of getting to know the people she has met in various refugee campsites.

Afghanistan, October 2008 (Marco Di Lauro)

Jolie has also taken part in vlogs on the UNHCR YouTube channel – She interviews refugees, carefully keeping herself mostly out of sight in order to ensure that whoever she is listening to is the focus of the video.

Her extensive work earned her the 2013 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy Awards ceremony. Because of her efforts, her determination, and her drive, Angelina Jolie has become a figure of strength in our society today. She has proven that you can do it all – from modeling to acting to directing to volunteering. She has positively impacted the lives of so many people all across the world. No longer a girl interrupted or a tomb raider…but a goodwill ambassador on the move.

HC with care,

Megan Hammer

(P.S: Jolie’s journals can be found here – http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/getinvolved/raising-awareness/439d4ee52/unhcr… )

Sources:

http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/special-envoy-angelina-jolie-pitt.html?query=angelina%20jolie

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13688790902887189?scroll=top&needAccess=true

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001401/

Photo Sources:

http://www.marcodilauro.com/features/angelina-in-afghanistan/#pb-image-1873

http://www.marcodilauro.com/features/angelina-in-afghanistan/#pb-image-1887

http://www.marcodilauro.com/features/angelina-in-afghanistan/#pb-image-1889