What's Angelina Jolie's Allure?

By Steve Helling

06/08/2009 at 12:45 PM EDT

Angelina Jolie seems to have it all: an Oscar winning film career, six healthy children, and a high-profile romance with partner Brad Pitt. It's a charmed life for the woman who was recently named The Most Powerful Celebrity in the World.

In the new cover story for Harper's Bazaar, writer Naomi Wolf explores why we're fascinated by all things Angelina.

She's a lover!
People were fascinated when Jolie snagged one of the most handsome men in the world. "She took for her own pleasure the male seen as the most desired of the tribe," Wolf writes. "Brad Pitt, who is always ranked at the top of indexes of male beauty and virility."

She's a mom!
Wolf says that we're fascinated by her six children. "Jolie revealed a new, and fairly radical, vision of single motherhood that made the relationship seem tender, glamorous, and complete."

She's an activist!
Jolie's philanthropy captures headlines. "Her intense work on behalf of stricken women and children worldwide solidified her status as an unconventional role model," Wolf writes, "and the rapid adoption of additional children turned the Jolie-Pitt story into one of family devotion and global idealism."

She's a pilot!
Wolf says that Jolie's pilot's license adds to her mystique. "Flying a private plane is the classic metaphor for choosing your own direction," she writes. "Usually, that is a guy thing to do, yet there was Jolie, with her aviator glasses on, taking flying lessons so she could blow the mind of her four-year-old son."

Whatever Jolie does next, Wolf believes that she'll continue to capture the public interest. "I for one will keep watching," she writes, "since Jolie's image is not just a mirror of one woman but also a looking glass for female fantasy life."

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