It's probably safe to say you don't need an introduction to Angelina Jolie.
After all, she has been called "the most famous actress in the world," by outlets like Insider.
The superstar went from starring in small films to being an internationally-respected
actress and activist.
And the transformation from Academy Award-winning actress to world-renowned humanitarian began
in Cambodia, where she was filming the blockbuster "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" franchise.
Another journey began in Cambodia: her journey to becoming a mother.
Maddox, the star's eldest child, was adopted from an orphanage in 2002.
It's much less likely you've heard of Elizabeth Jacobs — but that may change soon.
She wasn't a household name in 2002, having been adopted herself from Cambodia in 2000.
Now she's a young director whose first feature-length documentary titled "Stolen Children" is making
waves.
The film follows Jacobs' return to Cambodia 21 years later.
She told Shoutout LA she was armed with nothing but a desire to, quote,
"Uncover the truth about [her] adoption and whether or not [she] was involved in the baby
trafficking scandal that happened exactly the same time [she] was adopted."
This is where Jolie and Jacob's paths intersect, and it appears the actress may be caught up
in the wave created by the young documentarian.
The question of how the two women are connected begins with the adoptions themselves.
In 2004, a woman named Lauryn Galindo, who had reportedly facilitated adoptions of Cambodian
children spanning over a decade, was handed a prison sentence after pleading guilty to
charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and money laundering, according to ABC News.
The charges stemmed from something much darker, the accusation that she "stole" children from
vulnerable women.
Allegedly, some women were coerced to give up their child with promises of thousands
of dollars from rich American parents, but who reportedly received far less — including
amounts reported to be as low as $15 or even a bag of rice.
Meanwhile, Galindo got rich — the former hula dancer owned multiple homes around the
world, including a lavish property in Hawaii.
Essentially, Galindo put hundreds of Cambodian children in the hands of American parents.
According to The Sun, both Jacobs and Jolie's son Maddox are allegedly among the trafficked.
Lauryn Galindo operated in murky waters, the result of which has cast suspicion on all
the adoptions she oversaw — reportedly half of all Cambodian adoptions during that time.
Despite there being no specific evidence of any wrongdoing by Jolie – or the other unsuspecting
parents who believed Galindo's stories about the pasts of the children they were adopting
– questions remain about the validity of the adoptions themselves.
At the time of Maddox's adoption, Jolie was married to Billy Bob Thornton.
But her on-screen and off-screen leading man wasn't in Maddox's life for long — the couple
divorced in 2003.
Newsweek reports that Jolie had actually adopted her first child without Thornton.
In 2006, during their marriage, Brad Pitt formally adopted Maddox.
This parental relationship has been a rocky one with the eldest Jolie-Pitt, who was the
only adult child of the couple at the time – he even testified against Pitt in court
proceedings for custody, according to Us Weekly.
"You've turned my own kids against me."
However, in May 2021, Pitt was granted joint custody of their children, including Maddox.
This is not the first time questions have been raised specifically about Maddox's adoption.
In 2017, a Cambodian charity aid director told The Sun he had claimed on paper to be
Maddox's father to assist the actress, stating,
"She had to change his name, so the only way was for me to do it.
I said he's my son."
There's no evidence Jolie or Thorton had knowledge of any false paperwork, and the actress has
maintained her son's past was researched thoroughly.
According to the Daily Mail, Jolie and Thornton went to "great lengths to ensure Maddox did
not have a living birth-mother in Cambodia."
She expanded on her belief that her son was not one of the "stolen" children and reportedly
said,
"I would never rob a mother of her child.
I can only imagine how dreadful that would feel."