You’ve seen the names side-by-side in Google searches. Angelina Jolie and Lauri Peters. Usually, when two famous names get tangled up like that, there’s some juicy, long-lost sister drama or a secret rivalry. But this isn't a case of Hollywood feuding. Honestly, it’s mostly just people getting confused about who gave birth to who.
If you’ve spent any time looking into Angelina Jolie’s family history, you know it’s... complicated. Her relationship with her father, Jon Voight, has been a rollercoaster for decades. But Lauri Peters isn't her mother. She isn't her aunt. She’s the woman who came before the family we know.
Basically, Lauri Peters was Jon Voight's first wife.
The Sound of Music Connection
The story starts long before Angelina was even a thought. It was 1959. Broadway was buzzing. A young actress named Lauri Peters (born Patricia Peterson) was making waves. She wasn't just some background player; she actually created the role of Liesl von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music.
Think about that for a second.
Before the movie, before "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" became a karaoke staple, Lauri Peters was the one singing it on stage every night. She even snagged a Tony Award nomination for it.
Then comes Jon Voight. He joins the cast as Rolfe—the Nazi messenger boy who catches Liesl’s eye. It’s a classic "showmance." They fall in love while singing about being "older and wiser" and get married in 1962.
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Why the confusion happens
People search for Angelina Jolie Lauri Peters because they see Jon Voight’s "Spouses" list on Wikipedia.
- Lauri Peters (m. 1962–1967)
- Marcheline Bertrand (m. 1971–1980)
Because Lauri was the first wife, it’s easy to assume she’s the mother. But she’s not. Jon and Lauri didn't have kids. After they split in '67, Jon eventually met Marcheline Bertrand. That is Angelina’s mom.
Who was Lauri Peters, really?
Lauri wasn't just "the ex-wife." She had a serious career that most people forget about. After her Broadway stint, she did some pretty cool stuff in the 60s and 70s.
- She starred in Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation with James Stewart.
- She was in the musical Summer Holiday with Cliff Richard.
- She popped up on Gunsmoke.
Later in life, she shifted gears. She became a huge deal in the world of acting education. She co-founded the Meisner Extension at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. If you’ve ever taken a drama class, you know the Meisner technique is like the holy grail of "acting is reacting." She literally wrote the book on it—The Sanford Meisner Approach: An Actor’s Workbook.
So, while she isn't related to Angelina Jolie by blood, they both share this intense, almost academic devotion to the craft of acting.
The Marcheline Bertrand Factor
To understand why the "Lauri Peters" search is so common, you have to look at the woman she’s often mistaken for: Marcheline Bertrand.
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Marcheline was the one who raised Angelina and her brother, James Haven. When Jon and Marcheline split in the late 70s, it wasn't a clean break. There was a lot of resentment. Angelina has been very vocal about how her mother gave up her own acting dreams to raise her kids after the divorce.
That’s a big part of why Angelina dropped the "Voight" from her name.
It’s interesting to look at the two women Jon Voight married. Both were actresses. Both were incredibly talented. But while Lauri Peters found her calling in teaching the next generation of actors, Marcheline became the emotional anchor for one of the biggest stars on the planet.
What most people get wrong
There’s a weird rumor that pops up occasionally in deep-web forums that Lauri Peters and Angelina Jolie had some kind of secret meeting or that Lauri was a "mentor" to her.
There is zero evidence for that.
By the time Angelina was born in 1975, Lauri and Jon had been divorced for eight years. They moved in completely different circles. While Angelina was navigating the grit of 90s Hollywood, Lauri was likely in a rehearsal hall at NYU, yelling at a student to "live truthfully under imaginary circumstances."
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The only real "link" is the man they both had complicated relationships with: Jon Voight.
The Timeline That Clears It All Up
If you're still a bit fuzzy on the dates, here’s how the Voight family tree actually shook out. It's not a straight line, it's more of a zig-zag.
- 1959-1962: Lauri Peters becomes a Broadway star. Meets Jon Voight.
- 1962: Lauri and Jon get married.
- 1967: The marriage ends. No children.
- 1971: Jon marries Marcheline Bertrand.
- 1973: James Haven is born.
- 1975: Angelina Jolie is born.
- 1980: Jon and Marcheline’s divorce is finalized.
Why this matters in 2026
In an era of AI-generated junk and "hallucinated" celebrity news, getting the facts right about legacy stars like Lauri Peters is kind of a big deal. She’s a pioneer of the Meisner technique. She’s a Tony nominee. She isn't just a footnote in a superstar’s biography.
Angelina Jolie has always been protective of her mother's legacy. Mistaking Lauri Peters for Marcheline Bertrand isn't just a factual error; for the fans, it glosses over the very specific, very difficult history Angelina had growing up.
So, next time you see a "Who is Angelina Jolie’s mother?" quiz or a family tree diagram, remember:
Lauri was the Broadway star.
Marcheline was the mother.
If you want to understand the acting roots of the family, look at Lauri. If you want to understand the woman Angelina became, look at Marcheline.
Actionable Takeaways for Movie Buffs
If you’re actually interested in the talent involved here and not just the gossip, here’s how to dive deeper:
- Watch the 1965 version of The Sound of Music... but then find the original cast recording. Listen to Lauri Peters. Her voice is totally different from Charmian Carr’s (the movie Liesl). It’s raw and very "theatrical."
- Check out Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. It’s a classic 60s comedy. You can see Lauri at the height of her "ingénue" phase.
- Read the Meisner Workbook. Even if you aren't an actor, the way Lauri Peters explains human behavior and "the reality of doing" is fascinating. It gives you a lot of insight into the "method" style of acting that both Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie are famous for.
The connection between Angelina Jolie and Lauri Peters is a ghost connection—a "what if" of Hollywood history. They are two women who occupied the same space in one man's life at very different times. One taught the world how to act; the other showed the world how to be a star.