Hollywood’s former symbol of power and beauty is now fighting to hold her life together.

Angelina Jolie, once one of the most admired and influential figures in Hollywood, is now facing grim headlines — from emotional exhaustion and financial strain to an unrelenting legal battle with ex-husband Brad Pitt. Years after their high-profile divorce, the Oscar-winning actress still struggles to regain stability in her personal and professional life.

In court documents filed in Los Angeles on October 9, Jolie revealed shocking details that have rattled Hollywood. She admitted that “the events leading up to the decision to divorce were deeply traumatic for me and the children.” The actress disclosed that when she filed for divorce in 2016, she left without demanding any compensation or property. Instead, she gave Brad Pitt full control over their two shared homes in Los Angeles and the Miraval estate in France — hoping, as she wrote, “that things would calm down after such a painful period.”

However, the post-divorce years nearly broke her. Jolie recounted that for two years she completely stopped acting and working to care for her six children — Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne — following the family’s collapse. The hiatus quickly drained her finances. “I could not afford to buy a house for me and my children in Los Angeles,” she wrote in her statement, adding that she had to borrow money — with interest — from Brad Pitt himself to support her family during her unemployment.

The revelation stunned fans who had long viewed Jolie as one of the wealthiest stars in the industry — a woman once crowned Hollywood’s highest-paid actress. To learn that she had to borrow money from the very man she is battling in court shocked many. According to the filings, Jolie has now reached the point of financial desperation, asking Pitt to reimburse $33,000 in legal fees that she was forced to pay while defending against his lawsuits.

At the center of their ongoing dispute lies Château Miraval, the French estate and winery where the couple married. Pitt has accused Jolie of selling her stake in Miraval to Stoli Group without his consent, while Jolie insists she had every right to do so. She maintains that most of her assets were “locked into Miraval,” and that selling her share was the only way to provide for her children after years away from the film industry.

From being the embodiment of independence and strength, Angelina Jolie now appears to be enduring her most difficult chapter. She once stood as a symbol of female power in Hollywood — commanding the box office with Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Salt, and Maleficent, while also directing acclaimed humanitarian films like First They Killed My Father and Unbroken. But following her marriage collapse, Jolie withdrew from public life. Only now is the reason becoming clear: the emotional and financial toll of her divorce and its lingering effects on her children.

Recently, Jolie appeared on the set of Anxious People, marking her long-awaited return to acting after years of silence. Her visibly thinner frame and altered style sparked both excitement and concern among fans. Many fear that the ongoing psychological strain and courtroom battles could weigh heavily on her new project’s progress and quality.

Born in 1975, Angelina Jolie has been one of the most powerful and recognizable women in Hollywood for over two decades. She first gained attention in the 1990s with Gia, but her breakthrough came with Girl, Interrupted (1999), which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Over the years, she became an international icon with a filmography that defined an era of female-led cinema.

Now approaching 50, Jolie remains a global figure of immense influence — her long and decorated career marked by humanitarian work that even earned her recognition from the United Nations. Yet this moment finds her not on a red carpet, but in a quiet struggle for emotional and financial survival.

Fans around the world are watching closely, hoping that the woman who once redefined strength on screen can once again rise from the wreckage — and walk out of the corner she’s been forced into.