Angelina Jolie and ex Brad Pitt’s son Maddox follows in his mom’s footsteps as he trains to become pilot

Angelina Jolie is a trained pilot and as it turns out, her eldest child Maddox has picked up her love of flying
UPDATED DEC 7, 2024
Angelina Jolie adopted Maddox as a single mother and after she began dating Brad Pitt, he started the process to adopt him as well (Getty Images)
Angelina Jolie adopted Maddox as a single mother and after she began dating Brad Pitt, he started the process to adopt him as well (Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Former Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and ex-husband Brad Pitt's 23-year-old son, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, has followed in his mother's footsteps and trained to become a pilot.

During her appearance on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' on Thursday night, December 5, Jolie confirmed that she’s "a pilot" and so is her son, Maddox.

"My son Maddox is training to be a pilot now, too. He’s actually, he is a pilot now," the 'Maria' actress told host Fallon, per Daily Mail.



 

Angelina Jolie says son Maddox is following in her footsteps

During her appearance on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon', Angelina Jolie, 49, also revealed that she wanted to become a funeral director prior to beginning her acting career.

Fallon, 50, asked Jolie, "Is it true that you considered becoming a pilot?" to which the 'Maleficent' actress replied, "Yes, I'm a pilot," before mentioning her son Maddox, whom she adopted in March 2002 when he was just seven months old.

She said, "And my son Maddox is training to be a pilot too. He, actually, he is a pilot now."

Following this, Fallon inquired, "Of planes, or helicopters, or do they both count the same?" Jolie explained, "No, they are different... some of the licenses are the same."

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 29: (L-R) Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Zahara Marley Jolie and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt attend the MARIA Spotlight Screening and Q&A at Alice Tully Hall on September 29, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Mendez/Getty Images for Netflix)
Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Zahara Marley Jolie, and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt attend the 'Maria' spotlight screening and Q&A at Alice Tully Hall on September 29, 2024, in New York City (Jason Mendez/Getty Images for Netflix)

The 'Salt' actress had previously said that she started training to fly planes in 2004 to impress a young Maddox.

In a 2004 People interview, Jolie disclosed that she began flying airplanes when Maddox was three years old. "Every time Mad sees a plane, he’s amazed," Jolie said at the time.

"If I could actually fly a plane by the time he’s 4, I’ll be like Superman to him," she added.

Jolie obtained her pilot's license in December 2004 and purchased a Cirrus SR22-G2, one of the safest single-engine aircraft, for $334,700 at the beginning of 2005, per People.

The actress continued to keep up her training with the plane and she even had her instructor travel to Calgary, Canada, in late 2005, to continue her lessons. She also took lessons with her then-husband Pitt while they were living in Canada.

In 2017, Jolie told People that Maddox had also begun flying. 

“He’s quite capable and always takes me by surprise,” Jolie said of her eldest son at the time. “He’s been practicing flying, then they called me the other day and said, ‘so Mad can go solo,’ and I nearly dropped the phone!”

Angelina Jolie shares close bond with her children

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have three biological children: Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16, besides their adopted children Maddox, Pax, 21, and Zahara, 19.

Jolie appears to share a close with her six children. However, they occasionally go to events to support their actress mother.

Maddox paired his sharp black suit with his mother's flowing white gown at the White House State Dinner honoring South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in April 2023. He also accompanied his brother Pax to support their mother while she was filming 'Maria'.

Jolie stated on a recent 'Good Morning America' episode that none of her children wanted to be in front of the camera at the moment. "They're quite private," she said, per E! News.

"They weren't born with privacy. I hope they can have that as they grow," she added.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 26: Actress Angelina Jolie and her son Maddox arrive at the White House on April 26, 2023 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are hosting South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee for a State Dinner. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Angelina Jolie and her son Maddox arrive at the White House on April 26, 2023, in Washington, DC where President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are hosting South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee for a State Dinner (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

During a 2023 Vogue interview, the 'Salt' actress revealed that her children saved her life. "Having children saved me — and taught me to be in this world differently," she told the outlet.

"I think, recently, I would’ve gone under in a much darker way had I not wanted to live for them."

She added, "They’re better than me, because you want your children to be. Of course I’m the mother, and hopefully that safe place for them and that stability."

"But I’m also the one that they laugh at — and I see them taking over so many different aspects of our family," Jolie said.

Brad Pitt remains estranged from his children

According to reports, Brad Pitt is not on good terms with his children; some of whom have legally dropped his last name, most notably Shiloh, who turned 18 in May.

According to reports, the 'Meet Joe Black' actor was unable to even pay Pax a visit to the hospital after he was involved in a motorcycle accident in July.

A source revealed to the Mail that Pitt is "begging" two of his six children to spend the day with him and his 31-year-old live-in girlfriend Ines de Ramon on his 61st birthday, which is December 18.

"Brad loves his kids and it would mean the world to him to have them spend his special day with him," the insider said.

HOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 16:  (L-R) Maddox Jolie-Pitt, actress Angelina Jolie and actor Brad Pitt ar
 Angelina Jolie, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, and actor Brad Pitt arrive at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center on November 16, 2013 in Hollywood, California (Frederick M Brown/Getty Images)

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