As one of the world's most high-profile actresses and humanitarian figures, Angelina Jolie may primarily call California home, and even New York City on occasion, but a piece of heart remains deep in Southeast Asia.
The star, 50, adopted the oldest of her six children, Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt, from an orphanage in Cambodia. Maddox, born on August 5, 2001, is more private than his mom or some of his other siblings, but his connection with his home is deep and one his mother has spoken about often.
In fact, soon after adopting Maddox with then-husband Billy Bob Thornton, Angelina even purchased a home there, plus massive amounts of surrounding land as well. Read on to learn more about her Cambodian abode…
She's owned her home for over 20 years
After adopting Maddox in 2002, Angelina purchased a traditional home in rural Cambodia the year after, although its value has not yet been disclosed.
It was reportedly then that she also purchased more than 148,000 acres of land surrounding the home, traditional rainforest area, that she aimed to turn into a wildlife preserve and continue her work as a conservationist, the same year she founded the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation.
Her house is all about being "real"
In 2019, Angelina provided an extensive glimpse inside and around her home for the first time in a campaign for French luxury brand Mon Guerlain Intense perfume.
The promotional video and behind-the-scenes footage were all shot at her home in Cambodia, giving fans a glimpse into the property in its finest, showcasing the actress' down to earth style.
The large home is built as a wooden longhouse with a traditional thatched straw roof, surrounded on all corners by lush rainforests, with much of the inside dominated by rattan furniture and earth tones.
The house boasts incredible capacity for natural light through its open structure, while light fixtures in the clips showcase her love for more minimalistic art and handicrafts from local artisans, plus an entire home bar and an airy dining room.
The estate also boasts one very deep personal touch that was shown in the clip, that being a framed photograph of Angelina on a flight back home from Cambodia in 2003, with a young Maddox lying asleep on the seat beside her. The philanthropist still owns the home today.
"I like the idea that you represent something that is truly like how you live in real life," she told Bazaar.com about filming the commercial there. "I think people know that: when there's truth or when there's a fairy tale. I think they prefer the truth."
Cambodia is still "home" for Angelina and Maddox
The home was purchased with the intention of allowing her firstborn to stay connected with his roots and have the opportunity to visit Cambodia as much as possible. It was Maddox, in fact, who convinced his mother to make the Netflix film First They Killed My Father in his home country.
The Oscar-winning actress told People that Maddox "goes back and forth [to Cambodia] a lot, but this would be over four months of just being in the country, really reading, listening, learning and absorbing all things about his culture and country [including] the very, very dark parts."
Earlier this year, at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, when asked what place she considered "home," she confirmed: "In my heart, Cambodia," crediting her casting in 2001's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider as the catalyst for her trip.