Why Angelina Jolie wasn't at the Oscars this year

Angelina Jolie attended her first Oscars in 1986 when she was just 10 years old, accompanying her actor dad Jon Voight.

Since then, she's become one of Hollywood's biggest stars in her own right, so she's always one of the most anticipated arrivals on the red carpet — even though she hasn't attended the Academy Awards every year by any stretch.

So of course, when Angelina skipped the 2025 Oscars, her fans had questions.

Angelina wasn't directly nominated this year, in what has been considered a snub. Meanwhile, her film Maria, directed by Pablo Larraín, did receive one nomination for Best Achievement in Cinematography. Despite this, the actress chose to sit this one out.

Whilst we don't know exactly why Angelina didn't go to the Oscars this year, there were quite a few clues in an interview she gave to Backstage in February.

"I’m dipping in and out of it," she said of awards season. "I’ve always approached it that way. You just do a few [events], then you go home and don’t let it become too central in your life. Focus on the art. It’s very important not to take it all too seriously and let it consume your days or your work."

She also shared that, to her, art is "such an amazing way to learn about each other. What is it to be human? It’s the beauty of what we do. The worst is when things are about being divided or different or competitive, or it’s just not about the sharing. It really ruins such a special thing."

Angelina is famously shy and private whenever she can be, a trait which she has definitely passed on to the children she shares with Brad Pitt.

For example, the Maleficent actress once said about her children's relationship with fame: "They really don't like any of the celebrity part of it, especially Shiloh hates it."

Angelina is mum to Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 18, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 16.