Angelina Jolie: An Outsider in Her Early Films

Oscar winning actress Angelina Jolie is no stranger to the public. Most everyone knows she's coupled with Brad Pitt and that she's starred in many hit movies like "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," and "Gia." And she's also well known for her numerous humanitarian activities. But what most people don't know about Angelina Jolie is that before she met Brad Pitt, before she became an award winning actress, even before she'd adopted three refugee children and gave birth to another child, Angelina Jolie acted in a few obscure films which helped burst her into stardom.

One of Angelina Jolie's first movies was "Hackers," a 1995 computer thriller. She was only 20 years old when she played Kate Libby, AKA Acid Burn, a girl hacker who had no trouble hanging with the boys. Her patience was as short as her hair in this movie, in which she's recruited by a gang of guy hackers to help thwart an oil spill extortion scheme.

A year later Jolie played Legs Sadovsky in a movie based on a Joyce Carol Oates novel, "Foxfire." Again, Jolie played an outsider moving in on a gang of sorts, only in this movie the gang was a clan of girls who had been abused at school and home. Legs gives them all the self confidence and fearlessness to stand up for themselves, as the girls bond with one another. Although Oates' novel was based in the 1950's, the film was adapted to take place in the 1990's. Jolie's performance is both emotional and captivating. She is both resilient and fragile as she leads the girls on a path for justice. Viewers fall for Legs quickly because of Jolie's stellar performance as a revenge bent outsider -- a teenage female Dirty Harry, so to speak. Angelina Jolie was born in 1975, which means she was only 21-years-old when this movie was released. Yet, at this young age, she exhibits the emotional depth and courage to capture an audience that will stay with her for the rest of her movie career.

Hackers and Foxfire both illustrate an actress coming into her own. Jolie's performances in both movies ought not have been a surprise to Hollywood seeing how she comes from good acting stock. Her father is actor Jon Voigt, himself an Oscar winner. And according to the Internet Movie Database, her mother is Marcheline Bertrand, who studied with the legendary Lee Strasberg. Angelina acted in music videos and theater before taking on film and shortly after Foxfire, she starred in the TV movie George Wallace. Her performance won her both a Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination. She went on to play supermodel Gia Carangi in the HBO movie "Gia" in 1998, which won her another Golden Globe, Emmy nomination, and a SAG award. Clearly, at this young age Angelina Jolie was maturing into a relevant film star and the future media personality she is today. She has grown into a woman and an acclaimed actress before our eyes.