Angelina Jolie’s special tattoo tribute to her six children revealed

Angelina Jolie is no stranger to a bold and eye-catching tattoo; who could forget the ink she got as a tribute to her then-husband, Billy Bob Thornton? 

However, Angelina’s latest tattoo is far more understated and meaningful for the mother of six.

She debuted a new sparrow tattoo at the Gotham Awards in New York City on Monday evening, resting just above the infamous ink that now lists the coordinates of her six kids’ birthplaces on her left shoulder. 

The tiny black bird is the twin to the sparrow on her chest, and is depicted flying downwards with its wings tucked back. 

Angelina’s black gown perfectly complimented her tattoo at the event, with the sleeveless look showcasing the new design. 

The bird holds a special meaning for the 49-year-old and is connected to her six kids, as she told CR Fashion Book. 

“There is also a Bird that I share with some of my children that is personal to us,” she told the outlet. 

Angelina shared that she also got a matching tattoo with her 16-year-old daughter Vivienne after they worked on the Broadway production of The Outsiders together, getting “Stay Gold“ inked in a reference to the musical. “It means so much to us separately and together,“ she said. 

The “Maria” actress is somewhat of a tattoo aficionado after sporting over 20 of them, including a 12-inch long Bengal tiger tattoo on her lower back and a Buddhist spell on her left shoulder blade. 

© Kristina Bumphrey

She shared her feelings on her tattoos with Marie Claire UK in 2020, explaining that she loves them because they’re “body art”. 

“I don’t think it’s abnormal that someone who spends their life in other skins wants to claim their own by marking things on it that matter to them,“ Angelina said.

She shares Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Vivienne and Pax, 16, with her ex-husband, Brad Pitt. 

© Samir Hussein

Speaking to Extra at the Gotham Awards, Angelina revealed that her children saw her vulnerable side for the first time while filming Maria, the biopic about the famed opera singer Maria Callas.

“I was so happy to be with them [on Maria], and definitely they saw me terrified, which is also a thing,“ she said.

“You don’t usually share so much vulnerability in front of your children, even really crying in front of them or being scared in front of them, so they were very protective.“ 

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The activist completed seven months of vocal training for the role and was still nervous about playing the iconic performer. However, she told Extra that garnering her children’s pride made it all worth it.  

“I was very scared to sing, and I was nervous to do things, but I also have always found it, you know, as an artist, you love things that scare you because it’s a gift.“ 

“[My children] did say they were proud of how hard I worked,“ she continued. “You know, when they say, they don’t talk about winning an award, they don’t talk about anything, I’ll hear them say, ‘She works so hard.’“

“So I think that that makes me very happy that they see that I work hard and it’s just nice.”