Angelina Jolie’s best friend: The star ‘has become close to Ellen Pompeo’

Angelina Jolie has a good friend in Hollywood that she has bonded with in recent years.

The Oscar-winning actress, 45, is now best friends with Ellen Pompeo, 51, of Grey’s Anatomy fame who has three children – Stella, 11, Sienna, six, and Eli, four. – with husband of 14 years, Chris Ivery.

‘She and Ellen Pompeo have known each other for years but really bonded during [coronavirus] lockdown because their kids are really close,’ said a source to UsWeekly.

The two have been seen together on the town with their daughters in the past.

They have a lot in common: both are over 40 and have had long careers in Hollywood where they started working as teenagers.

They also both live in the Los Feliz, California neighborhood which is not far from Hollywood.

Jolie’s ex Brad Pitt is less than a mile away as well, which makes co-parenting easier.  She and Pitt, 57, split in September 2016 after two years of marriage.  They became legally single in April 2019, but are still haggling over the custody agreement. 

Jolie also has others to help her with Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. 

And she has also become close to her Eternals costar Don Lee 

‘Angie has a tight support system that largely consists of her household staff, her brother, James, and a handful of very trusted friends,’ the insider shared.  

Jolie only allows in people whom she can ‘trusts with her life’ and those who make the cut have become ‘like family’ to her, the insider noted.

‘The divorce has been very tough on her, both emotionally and financially … but she’s found ways to cope,’ the insider shared.    

This comes after she said was ‘really challenged’ by home schooling.

The Mr & Mrs Smith actress is thankful all her kids are ‘capable and smart’ so didn’t need to rely on her to guide them through the work supplied by their various schools when in-person teaching was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic.

She told HELLO! magazine: ‘I have four different schools going on with six different kids, so it’s all different. ‘I’m also terrible with math and I question history, so I’m a really challenged parent when it comes to a lot of this stuff.

‘Fortunately, I have very capable, smart children. They are getting through, but it’s hard.’

The actress is giving her focus to her children right now and she couldn’t be happier with where she is in her own life. She said: ‘Right now, I just want to raise my children well. They are all at those very special ages where you want to not miss a moment.

‘You do your best to get it right before they are out into the world on their own and having to face everything.

‘You hope to get all of the good stuff in. I’m the most grounded I’ve ever been in my life and that allows you to be more free. When you’re older, you can tackle bigger things. Life is very full and I complain very little these days. As long as my kids are healthy, I have everything I need.’

Angelina believes the key to happiness is being an ‘honest person’ and a good friend.

She said: ‘What really gets you through life is being a good friend, making good friends, and being an honest person. If you can go to sleep at night feeling that you’ve been yourself and you’ve been straight, you can live clean and be right with yourself. Don’t let other people define who you are. The most important thing is to figure out what is uniquely different about you, not how you are like other people. Try to stay with that, be strong and brave and don’t let them change you.’

She also said she has a ‘very long list of nos’ when it comes to dating.

The Those Who Wish Me Dead actress joked she’s been single ‘for a long time’ because she’s so picky about her partners.

Asked if she has a list of ‘nos’ when it comes to finding a new guy to date, she quipped: ‘I probably have a very long list [of ‘nos’]. I’ve been alone for a long time now.’

Although the star can be a worrier, she’s thankful she doesn’t need to fret about her ‘cool’ kids because they are all ‘very capable’. 

She told E! News: ‘I have six very capable children. Of course you wake up and you just feel like, ‘I’ve got to make sure they’re OK. I’ve got to make sure they’re mentally OK,’ but honestly I think a few years ago it switched and they’re thinking, ‘I’ve got to make sure mom’s OK. We’re such a team so I am very, very lucky. I’m always the one who worries but I don’t worry about them. They’re cool people.’

Angelina recently admitted playing PTSD-stricken fire fighter Hannah Faber in her new movie Those Who Wish Me Dead  – her first action role in over a decade – had been a ‘very healing’ experience for her. 

She said: ‘I am drawn to people who have been through something and are broken and then find their way forward and overcome it. As an artist, it’s very healing to play people like that. She’s been very healing for me, because you just get so broken and then you stand back up. [Hannah is] a very broken person who carries a great deal of guilt.’