Angelina Jolie and Other Female Celebs Who Have Worked Behind the Lens

When you think of a celebrity on the A-list, you think of someone like Angelina Jolie or her beau, Brad Pitt. She's been one of the biggest stars in Hollywood for about a decade and a half, she's won an Oscar for her role in "Girl, Interrupted." In other words, movies and Angelina Jolie go hand-in-hand, and now she's taking on two new roles, writing and directing a film based on the Bosnian conflicts, "In the Land of Blood and Honey." Angelina also recently divulged that she'd had a plan to be a director of a different variety, a funeral director that is.

The subject of war torn countries is one that the "Tomb Raider" action star has quite a bit of first hand knowledge about. Her work on that franchise eventually led her to be a special United Nations Ambassador to war torn and third world countries on behalf of the orphans those civil wars often lead to. While Jolie has directed a documentary before, this is her first turn behind the helm of a film wherein she'll actually be directing actors and directors of photography.

Angelina will join a growing list of female celebrities who are making quite a name for themselves in the big chair on movie sets.

Sofia Coppola - It's in her blood, obviously. The daughter of one of the greatest American film directors, Francis, Sofia made a big splash with her 2003 debut "Lost in Translation" which starred Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in her breakout role. The film won Sofia an Oscar for its script, and got her nominated as Best Director.

Kathryn Bigelow - Once married to one of the biggest directors of a generation, Bigelow made a huge impression on the cinematic world with "The Hurt Locker" in 2010. The film won both Best Picture and Best Director for the former Mrs. James Cameron. The film was so good, one can hardly remember that she also directed the cult-classic and unintentionally hilarious surfer meets cops and robbers film, "Point Break."

Betty Thomas - She went from a gifted actress with roles in classic comedies like "Troop Beverly Hills" to working behind the lens as a director of films like "Private Parts" and "28 Days." Her unique comedic sensibilities made her a great match for Howard Stern on "Private Parts" and her female perspective helped make the film a sweet love letter to Stern's wife at the time.

Jennifer Aniston - Jen may have lost Brad to Angelina, but she beat Jolie to the punch when it comes to directing. Aniston recently took a turn directing a segment in the anthology film "Five" for the Lifetime Network. The film was a series of vignettes about about the impact that breast cancer has on those it effects.

More from this Contributor:
Christian Bale to Retire as Batman? -- Who Could Play the Caped Crusader Next?
Miley Cyrus 'Stoner' Hubbub -- What's Miley's Next Move?

Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network here to start publishing your own articles.