Angelina Jolie: The journey from husband-stealer to the star of brand Brangelina

Raise your hand if you think that Angelina Jolie was the architect of Hollywood's most glamorous tale ever. Brad? Well, he was just a footnote in Brand Brangelina. Let's rewind to the turn of the century . With the Brad-Jen breakup, Tinsel town found the villain it loved to hate. Tattoos, divorce from Billy Bob Thornton, sexcapades in hotels, claims of being bisexual -here was a woman who was the exact antithesis of America's Sweetheart Jennifer Aniston.That there were deliberate photoshoots and ample pictures of Brad and Angelina's vacation with her first adopted son, which left Aniston teary-eyed, did not help her cause. It was a scandal. Did she care? No.
And then, there was that other facet -that of a postfeminist, cosmopolitan, global woman, who embraced multiculturalism, and was appointed UN's goodwill ambassador as early as in 2001. The scandal was there, but Jolie would have none of it. She overplayed the gossips with her humanitarian projects and faced the backlash of Brad-Jen's divorce head-on, without caring two pence for it. Then Brad officially adopted her son from Cambodia, and the two had their first biological child.The narrative was shifting from that of a dysfunctional relationship to one of a homely hearth. The adoptions continued, as did their resolve to not get married till gay marriage was legalised. Angelina Jolie was a paradox that was hard to explain and even harder to ignore. It was a love-hate relationship, with the swings increasingly turning towards love. Then, in 2014, the double mastectomy happened. And Angelina Jolie had redeemed herself. Talking openly about her fight against the spectre of cancer and prioritising her health and family over worldly yardsticks of beauty , she had turned the equation upside down. Interviews with declaration of their commitment to each other, pictures of the two lovingly (and with ample smiles) staring into each other's eyes, strategically placed hands on waists, and the two jetting in and out of countries with their six very racially different kids... they were the picture of a modern, liberal, ideologically look-up-to-worthy family , that was the need of the hour. The husband-stealer had faded from public memory . It was the healer who ruled.