The Scoop on the Angelina Jolie Tell All
Monday, April 26th, 2010Well it seems that Angelina Jolie doesn’t have a whole lot to talk about these days, so infamous biographer Andrew Morton decided to get to the bottom of it in an all new tell all. When it will be surfacing is anybody’s guess, but it sounds like her infamous tattoos and their meanings will be a focus point of the book. A lot of snide comments come to mind here, I mean, one of the most famous women in the world and tattoos are the only thing a famous biographer could come up with? But as it turns out, the actress is such a fan of body art she spent one night sketching a design on boyfriend Brad Pitt’s back, because they “didn’t have anything to do”. But if you are curious, the new tell-all book cover features a picture of her back – a fitting perspective for a biography written without her approval. But even though you can’t see her face, Angelina Jolie is instantly recognisable on Andrew Morton’s book by her collection of tattoos, something she never seems to tire of talking about. “I am still, at heart and always will be just a punk kid with tattoos,” she has also confessed. As well as quotations, dates and phrases which hold a special meaning to 34-year-old Angelina, the Tomb Raider star is covered in odes to her children and her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand. A couple of designs linked to her ex-husbands, however, failed to make the final cut – the actress has either had them removed or covered up teaching us all that in most if not all cases, romantic love should not be inked permanently on the skin. Even she admits it.
“I’ll never be stupid enough to have a man’s name tattooed on me again.”
Now, as bookshelves are preparing to be adorned with the photo of Angelina’s tattooed back, here is a run down of the film star’s ink – and the meanings of all her intricate designs. As far as the ink on her back is concerned, she has a lot to say about her choices there. The words “Know your rights” sit at the base of Angelina’s neck. The phrase is the title of a Clash song and, according to the actress, a slogan of empowerment. She has described it as “humanitarian, but a little punk rock”. Moving left we have an incantation in Khmer, on her left shoulder blade, is arguably Angelina’s most recognisable tattoo. Khmer is the native language of Cambodia – the country where her son Maddox was born. A possible translation is:
“May your enemies run far away from you/If you acquire riches may they remain yours always/Your beauty will be that of Apsara/Wherever you may go, may will attend, serve and protect you, surrounding you on all sides”.
Moving south we have the infamous 12-by-eight-inch Bengal tiger tattoo, which is visible on Angelina’s lower back, was done during a visit to Bangkok, Thailand, in 2004. Artist Sompong Kanhphai took two hours to complete the design and then blessed it by chanting an ancient hymn. Angelina reportedly had the tattoo done to celebrate her Cambodian citizenship. Naturally. And as far as her arms are concerned, no mysteries there for many of us. The tattoo on Angelina’s upper left arm is a tribute to her rainbow coloured family. The design features the geographical co-ordinates of where her six children were born. Onto the other arm…A Tennessee Williams quote on the actress’s left forearm reads: “A prayer for the wild at heart kept in cages”. The phrase is the subtitle of Williams’ 1941 play Stairs to the Roof. Angelina’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand, was with her when she got this tattoo. Angelina originally had XIII – the Roman numeral for 13 – tattooed on the inside of her left forearm because she doesn’t believe in superstitions. She later added V MCMXL to the design, which is believed to be a reference to the date (May 13, 1940) when Winston Churchill declared: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”. So if you ever thought you’d never see the day when Angelina Jolie and Winston Churchill were uttered in the same sentence, you were wrong. How tempted are we to give the big eye roll to the great humanitarian, literary genius, and Cambodian citizen, Angelina Jolie. As the famous and late Paul Harvey would say, now you know the rest of the story.
Photo: Darla Khazei, PacificCoastNews.com







