Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning share several A-list similarities.
For starters, they both come from a celebrity dynasty that includes fathers and sisters and other family members. They have both starred in numerous luxury fashion brand campaigns for the likes of Guerlain, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs and they both have been nominated for prestigious awards, including Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards.
But now, the mother-of-six learns that she and Teen Spirit actress Fanning have another, perhaps more surprising thing in common.
In an interview with ELLE UK ahead of the release of their new film Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Fanning revealed to Jolie that her ballet teacher used to babysit the 44-year-old when she was a child.
Speaking about her dance teacher Wendy Lawson, who the actress counts as one of her best friends and a fellow ‘wicked woman’, the 20-year-old told Jolie that Lawson used to care for the Oscar-nominated star.
‘That’s so strange,’ admitted Jolie.
‘I’ve been meaning to tell you and now I’m telling you on live television,' Fanning added.
Wanting to find out more about their connection, the Wanted star asked her co-star whether she had heard if she was a naughty child given her connection to Lawson.
‘Was I trouble,’ she asked.
Fanning laughed, adding, ‘I think you were a little young’, before Jolie light-heartedly told her ‘don’t answer that’.
The 21-year-old also revealed to us what most people wouldn't expect from her co-star.
‘You’re extremely playful,’ she told Angelina. ‘You’re not incredibly serious. You’re not!’
‘You’re really funny and we have, on set, it’s a joyous feeling together.’
Meanwhile, the philanthropist told Fanning that meeting her was like being ‘attacked by bunch of bunnies’.
‘I can’t describe it any other way,' she added.
Elsewhere in the interview, Jolie opened up about watching her three daughters – Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 13 and Vivienne, 11 – grow up and become young women.
‘It’s an amazing thing to know a woman from a child and watch her really become the woman she’s going to be and start thinking about expressing herself in different ways, finding her voice and the type of woman she is, the desires she has and thoughts…it’s very exciting,' she said.
When it comes to reclaiming the term ‘wicked’, as Jolie opened up about in her essay for ELLE earlier this year – the actress said that word is often used to negatively portray and control woman.
‘Often the excuse is there is something about [women’s] fight for their own freedoms and rights that is aggressive, not feminine, that they should be in place and passive,’ Jolie explained.
‘They are not wicked, they are frightened, damaged or put up against… [for] women around the world there is this collective trauma.
‘They’re not dark, they’re fighting to breathe and are often characterised as dark or hysterical so they can further be abused.’
Watch a clip of Angelina Jolie getting read with ELLE UK for a night out in London below.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
