Angelina Jolie: How She's Emerged as Hollywood's Biggest Role Model

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Angelina Jolie has made an impact in Hollywood.
The award-winning actress has proven time and time again that she is much more than just a star who has talents in front of (and behind) the camera, but also a woman who can conquer some of the scariest battles, a loving mother and partner and a humanitarian—just to name a few. And with those things combined, Jolie has become one of Tinseltown's biggest role models.
Let's take a look at some of the celeb's biggest accomplishments since her career in show business blossomed...

Blowing Up on the Big Screen: After gaining wide fame from her portrayal as Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Jolie began taking on a plethora of roles, some of which got recognized with top awards. Throughout her career thus far, the actress has won three Golden Globes, two SAG Awards and one Academy Award, along with being named Forbes' highest paid actress in Hollywood in 2009.
Supermom: Soon after breaking it off with ex Billy Bob Thornton, Angelina became a mom when she adopted her son Maddox from Cambodia in 2002. He then became the eldest sibling of six, after Jolie also adopted daughter Zahara from Ethiopia and son Pax from Vietnam, and gave birth to her three children with Brad Pitt: daughter Shiloh and fraternal twins, Knox and Vivienne. The tight-knit family of eight continue to show that they will always find ways to spend time together regardless of busy schedules.
NEWS: How Angelina Jolie kept double mastectomy secret

J Tanner/UNHCR via Getty Images

Taking Care of the World: No, literally. Pitt's significant other has done humanitarian efforts in all parts of the globe in various ways. Being named UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie went on field missions to refugee camps in over 30 countries, including Lebanon, Darfur, Sudan and Congo. After over a decade in that post, Angelina was promoted to the rank of Special Envoy of High Commissioner António Guterres.
In addition to her work with UNHCR, the A-lister became a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in 2007, and launched numerous charitable organizations, such as the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which is dedicated to community development and environmental conservation in Cambodia's northwestern province Battambang, the Maddox Chivan Children's Center, a daycare facility for children afflicted and affected by HIV in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to aid humanitarian causes worldwide.
But there's more! Jolie also opened an all-girls primary school in Afghanistan.

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

Maintaining a Loving and Lasting Relationship: Although the beginning of her relationship with Pitt snagged a slew of negative media attention, the duo have made it clear their love affair was not just a post-filming fling. After seven years and raising six kids together, this pair have shown that their union is a true and lasting Hollywood romance. And now the couple is preparing to make their way to the altar.
Becoming a Good Example for Women: Last, but certainly not least, Jolie's latest revelation has become a strong message for women. The "heroine," as fellow celeb Jamie Lee Curtis called her, made a strong impression for females around the world after she decided to undergo a preventative double mastectomy to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer. The actress silently had the treatment in February, and opened up about the process through an op-ed piece in New York Times, maintaining the utmost class and dignity through a difficult topic.