If you look at the yearbook photos of high school Angelina Jolie, you see a face that would eventually define a whole era of Hollywood. But back then? She was just "Angie Voight," a girl who felt like a total alien in the middle of Beverly Hills. Most people assume she was the "it girl" or the prom queen type because, well, she’s Angelina Jolie.
Honestly, the reality was way darker and a lot weirder.
She wasn't the popular girl. Not even close. She was the kid the "cool" kids made fun of because she wore braces and thick glasses and was "too skinny." It’s kind of wild to think about now, considering she’s been called the most beautiful woman in the world for decades, but back at Beverly Hills High School, she was an easy target.
The Beverly Hills High School Mismatch
Beverly Hills High is famous. It’s the school that inspired 90210. It’s where the kids of the ultra-rich and famous go to navigate the social hierarchy in Ferraris. But even though her dad was Oscar-winner Jon Voight, Angelina wasn't living that lifestyle.
Her parents had split up when she was tiny. She was living with her mom, Marcheline Bertrand, on a much more modest income than her classmates.
She felt it.
The gap between her and the affluent families was huge. While other girls were buying the latest designer clothes, she was shopping at thrift stores. That sense of "not belonging" stayed with her. It basically fueled the rebellious streak that would define her early career.
She once described herself as looking like a "muppet" during this time. Big eyes, big lips, and a frame that her peers didn't find "hot"—they found it weird.
Dropping Out and the "Punk Outsider" Phase
By the time she was 14, she’d had enough of the traditional social ladder. She actually dropped out of the acting program at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and decided she wanted to be a funeral director. Seriously. She even took a course in embalming.
She transferred to Moreno High School, which was an alternative school.
This is where the "High School Angelina Jolie" persona most people recognize started to form. She went full punk. We’re talking all-black clothes, leather, PVC, and fishnets. She started going out to mosh pits and experimenting with a much darker lifestyle.
"At school I wasn't that popular person; I was a punk. I loved leather, PVC, and fishnets." — Angelina Jolie, Harper's Bazaar.
She had a live-in boyfriend at 14. Her mom actually allowed him to live in their house so she knew where Angelina was and that she was "safe" in her first relationship. It sounds unconventional, and it was, but Jolie has since said it kept her off the streets and out of more serious trouble.
The Failed Modeling Career (Yes, Really)
You’d think the modeling agencies would have been beating down her door.
Nope.
During her mid-teens, she tried to break into modeling at her mother’s insistence. It was a disaster. She was told she was "too dark" or "too gloomy." She did some shoots—there are photos out there of a 15-year-old Jolie in leopard print and bathing suits—but she didn't fit the "bubbly" aesthetic the industry wanted in the early '90s.
She also appeared in music videos. If you look closely at Lenny Kravitz's "Stand by My Woman" (1991) or Meat Loaf's "Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through," you'll see a teenage Jolie. She was working, but she wasn't a star.
Relationships and the Shadow of Jon Voight
High school was also the time when her relationship with her father, Jon Voight, was at its most complex. They weren't exactly estranged yet—that would come later—but the tension was there. She was starting to realize they were both "drama queens."
She eventually dropped the "Voight" name legally because she wanted to be known for her own work, not just as a famous actor's daughter.
What We Can Learn From Her Teen Years
Looking back at high school Angelina Jolie, the most striking thing is how much she leaned into her "otherness." She didn't try to fit the Beverly Hills mold after she realized it wasn't for her. She leaned into the darkness.
If you’re looking to understand the "Jolie" brand, you have to look at these years:
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- Embrace the unconventional: She stopped trying to be the "pretty girl" and started being the "punk girl."
- Resilience through rejection: Being told she wasn't good enough for modeling didn't stop her; it just shifted her focus back to acting.
- Authenticity over popularity: She found her tribe in the alternative scene rather than chasing the approval of the popular crowd.
If you're researching her early life for a project or just out of curiosity, the best next step is to look at her early filmography immediately following high school. Check out her performance in Cyborg 2 (which she famously hated) or Hackers to see how that high school "outsider" energy translated directly into the roles that finally made her a household name.