Happy Birthday Angelina Jolie: World's most beautiful women turns 45

The gorgeous Angelina Jolie turns 45 today, cited as one of the most influential and powerful people in the American entertainment industry. For a number of years, she was cited as the world's most beautiful woman by various media outlets.

In addition to her film career, Jolie is noted for her humanitarian efforts, for which she has received a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and made an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG), among other honors. She promotes various causes, including conservation, education, and women's rights, and is most noted for her advocacy on behalf of refugees as a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Jolie made her screen debut as a child alongside her father, Jon Voight, in Lookin' to Get Out (1982), and her film career began in earnest a decade later with the low-budget production Cyborg 2 (1993), followed by her first leading role in a major film, Hackers (1995).

She starred in the critically acclaimed biographical cable films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Girl, Interrupted (1999). Her starring role as the video game heroine Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) established her as a leading Hollywood actress.

Angelina's personal life, including her relationships, marriages, and health battles, has been the subject of wide publicity. She is divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller, Billy Bob Thornton, and Brad Pitt; she and Pitt have six children together, three of whom were adopted internationally.

Jolie was involved in a well-publicized Hollywood scandal when she was accused of having caused the divorce of actors Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston in October 2005.