We Finally Know What Happened To Angelina Jolie's Brother
James Haven might not be a household name, but if you were watching the Oscars in 2000, then you likely remember one key moment. While accepted her award for "Girl, Interrupted," Angelina Jolie praised her brother during the speech, even going so far as to say, "I'm so in love with my brother right now. He just held me and said he loved me, and I know he's so happy for me." Later that night, the actress was photographed giving her brother a kiss on the lips — a kiss that some thought was a little bit too much.
But before all that happened, Haven was Jolie's brother. Both are the children of Jon Voight and the late Marcheline Bertrand, and the two were known for their extra-close sibling bond for years before it seemed like all of the sudden they simply dropped out of one another's lives. Now is the time to catch up with the producer and actor and find out just what he's been up to all this time.
Angelina Jolie and brother James Haven were best friends
There was a time when Angelina Jolie's brother, James Haven, nearly always came up in articles and conversations about the "Eternals" star. As the Daily Mail noted back in 2007, Haven is one of the few people on the planet who can say they really know Jolie — or at least, he was. In fact, Haven used the interview as an opportunity to explain why he believes his sister has pursued humanitarian projects around the world and why she has adopted children from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Ethiopia.
Haven told the publication that he believes witnessing the way the pair's father treated their mother is at the core of Jolie's care for others. Haven explained, "I think one of the reasons Angelina and I care so much for other people is his treatment of our mother. Angelina and I were very protective of her for that reason."
Haven also told the Daily Mail that the bond he and his sister had might have contributed to the fact that he was single at the time. As he put it, "Maybe I haven't found the right woman because my sister is too picky for me. Any woman has to go through two filters, me and then my sister."
The two were so close it made some fans uncomfortable
However, the close bond that James Haven describes having had with sister Angelina Jolie isn't for everyone. The pair's kiss on the evening of the Oscars in 2000 definitely confused many — both the short smooch they shared when she was announced as the winner and a kiss they shared later (via Us Weekly). It seems that fans just weren't sure how to process what happened. The New York Post reported that even journalists were curious, with one unnamed source asking Jolie about the relationship she and Haven shared after the Oscars ended.
Per the Post, Jolie was asked to explain what her relationship with her brother was like. Jolie first chalked up their closeness to coming from a divorced family, saying, "Oh, God, well, I don't know if it's divorced families or what it is, but he and I were each other's everything, always, and we've been best friends." The publication also shared that Jolie's manager elected to not take phone calls that night.
Fans were also perturbed. The New York Post wrote that one fan even called the relationship "unnatural" on a Yahoo! message board.
James Haven was able to get Angelina Jolie to reunite with their father
Angelina Jolie and James Haven were estranged from their father, Jon Voight, for several years. E! writes that the trouble began when Jolie was only 2 and her parents divorced; it seems that Voight wasn't faithful to Jolie and Haven's mother, and that caused a period of estrangement that lasted until Jolie was 11 years old and the children and their mother moved from New York to Los Angeles, where Voight lived. The pair had a further period of disagreement while Jolie was married to Billy Bob Thornton, as Voight reportedly didn't like the public displays of affection for which Jolie and Thornton were known (per E!).
However, in 2009, Haven reportedly became a born-again Christian and even moved into ministry. It was during this time that he and Jolie's then-husband Brad Pitt tried to reunite Jolie and Voight. A source told E! that Jolie even invited her father on a family trip to Italy, he accepted, and the family seemed to have a great time. The source also said that the invitation was a huge step in the right direction, explaining, "The visit actually went really well, and Angie's thrilled he got on really well with all her kids. She's grown up a lot, and forgiving Jon is a huge step."
Angelina Jolie's brother has opened up about how her relationship with Brad Pitt changed her
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were together for 12 years — and were married from 2014 to 2019 — until the actress filed for divorce in 2016 (per The Cut). It's not a surprise that such a lengthy relationship had an impact on them both, and James Haven has been vocal about the ways Jolie's marriage to Pitt changed his sister.
Per People, Haven spoke to the publication Grazia early in Jolie and Pitt's relationship — all the way back in 2007. At the time, Jolie and Haven were still quite close, and it sounds like he knew a lot about what his sister and Pitt shared at the time. He told the publication that Pitt was even the reason why Jolie felt comfortable adopting more kids, explaining, "She says she couldn't have adopted more children after Maddox without him. He has changed so much. He's completely involved — he loves the children and is terrific with them."
Haven also defended his sister against reports that she was aggressive or controlling in her relationship. He said, "I have never seen any sign of tension between them. They make all their decisions together. It's rubbish that she tries to control him."
Angelia Jolie hired her brother to be her nanny after her split from Brad Pitt
As we all know, the relationship between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt ultimately ended in a fairly dramatic fashion ... and Jolie's brother, James Haven, was right there, supporting his sister the entire time. Jolie even so far as to hire her brother as a nanny for her kids while the family lived in Malibu, California. A source told Us Weekly that Haven had really stepped up, saying, "He took on a more active daily role in June. The kids call him 'Uncle James.'"
Some publications put a different spin on things. Per OK! Magazine, Haven had become a sort of father figure to the children due to their own father's prolonged absences. A source told the publication, "Brad's absolutely working his butt off right now and the kids rarely see him. He leaves for the set before they wake and comes home after they've gone to bed."
Per Us Weekly, Jolie had made arrangements to move herself and the children into the Malibu home prior to filing for divorce. The home was not meant to be a long-term stay, but the five bedrooms provided enough space for her six kids and herself.
Angelina Jolie and her brother mysteriously fell out not too long after
For reasons that have not been publicly disclosed, Angelina Jolie and her brother, James Haven, appear to have grown apart. It's certainly true that the two haven't been spotted together in years, though what's less clear is why that might be. After all, the pair were once so close and were best friends.
In January 2021, a source told the Daily Mail that the problem might simply be a case of two people simply separating. The source said that it'd been some time since the two were close, explaining, "Angelina and James are widely believed to have drifted apart some years ago." The source also added that Haven was often the first person that Jolie and her ex-husband Brad Pitt called when they needed a babysitter.
They added that the sibling fallout seemed to happen suddenly, saying, "But all of a sudden and with no real explanation their communication seemed to just stop out of nowhere. He does his thing, she does hers and while they may be cordial from a distance you certainly don't see or hear of them being together." Sadly for the siblings, the source noted that it didn't appear that there would be a change in their current dynamic "any time soon."
Angelina Jolie might have driven her brother away
Of course, even though the only people who know what happened between Angelina Jolie and her brother, James Haven, are the two of them, that hasn't stopped people from speculating and talking about the situation. A source told Radar Online that the drama between the two might date back to when Haven was working as a nanny to Jolie's children with Brad Pitt. According to this person, Jolie crossed some boundaries.
The source said, "Angelina puts James through hell when he can't keep the kids quiet while she's trying to work, and has him making her coffees and going out to buy her groceries like he's some kind of assistant."
It seems that Jolie's reputation for always being in charge might have some meat to it, as a source close to Jolie told Page Six that Jolie had previously been emotionally aggressive toward her ex-husband. The source explained, "She just assumed that people would follow whatever she said, including her husband, and so when they had marital issues, she ... believed she could just bully him into whatever she wanted."
James Haven appears to be having fun without his sister, Angelina Jolie
Whatever is or isn't going on between Angelina Jolie and her brother, James Haven, it seems that Haven is making the best of it. In January 2021, Haven was spotted tooling around Malibu, California, with an unidentified friend. Per the Daily Mail, the pair appeared to be enjoying a pretty laidback day, stopping by a juice bar and then spending time at the beach before parting ways.
The publication notes that the appearance is a bit unusual for Haven, especially as this is the first time he has been spotted in public in about a year. A source told the Daily Mail that Haven seemed pretty concerned about how he looked prior to his friend's arrival, noting, "Before they met up, James spent a while checking himself out in store windows and playing with his hair."
The Daily Mail also notes that while Haven was in a relationship with Ashley Reign for around 10 years, it's unclear if the two are still together.