Angelina Jolie friends with her kids

Angelina Jolie says her mom taught her to “be friends” with her children.
The actress who raises six kids with partner Brad Pitt and her older brother James were brought up by mother Marcheline, who died aged 56 in 2007. Angelina’s father actor Jon Voight got divorced from her mother when she was five, and the pair have famously had a strained relationship.
Angelina says her mom taught her the fundamental values of being a close-knit family and reliable parent.
“My mom always made it clear that I was her friend and that is a lesson on how to bring up my own children,” she told British newspaper The Sun. “When we talked, I felt she wanted to hear what I had to say. She enjoyed me and I feel I’m enjoying my kids.
“We play together, we dance. Even though [my kids] all from different backgrounds, they feel like they’re part of the same family. My mum was my heroine. She was a generous, warm individual, who led a very private life but walked through it with kindness and grace.
“We would jokingly call her Marshmallow, instead of Marcheline, because she was the most gentle person in the world.
“But when it came to her kids, she was fierce in their protection.
“When I played Christine Collins in Changeling in 2008 I could relate to her, through my mum. She had that elegance and strength through knowing what was right. My mum was far too young to die [from cancer] but she did meet most of my kids, so I am grateful for that.”