A life of service is worth living: Angelina Jolie's advice to daughters

Pic Courtesy: Movie Still

Los Angeles: Actor-director Angelina Jolie is known all over for widespread humanitarian efforts and she hopes to pass it on to her daughters.

Jolie spoke with former US Secretary of State, John Kerry for Elle magazine's March issue and discussed a variety of topics such as systemic violence, politics and rape as a weapon of war.

Jolie has three daughters -- Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 11 and Vivienne, 9 -- and the actor disclosed the advice she gives to her daughters.

"I tell my daughters, 'What sets you apart is what you are willing to do for others. Anyone can put on a dress and makeup. It's your mind that will define you. Find out who you are, what you think, and what you stand for.

"And fight for others to have those same freedoms. A life of service is worth living,'" Jolie said.

Jolie described herself as "very patriotic" and "proud of what America stands for" and said that her children are afforded certain freedoms unavailable to many.

"It's only because we are a country based on people of different backgrounds and faiths coming together that I can have this family," Jolie said.

"My daughters have the freedoms they have because of being American. And we are at our best when we are fighting for others to have the same rights. Particularly other women," she added.

The United Nations goodwill ambassador and special envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees also said that she makes sure her children, especially her daughters, remember the people who helped forged the path before them.

"I think of how hard women fought to get us to where we are today. Everything counts, from the way you hold yourself in your daily life and educate yourself on your own rights, to solidarity with other women around the world," Jolie said.