Angelina Jolie and her son Maddox Jolie-Pitt made an appearance at the White House Wednesday night for a state dinner in honor of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and with Kim Keon Hee’s visit to the U.S. The dinner was a celebration of 70 years of the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea, but also served to the general public as a real wake-up call: Remember baby Maddox? Jolie’s eldest child, whom she adopted in 2002, is somehow 21 years old now. And what’s more, he’ll turn 22 in August.
Maddox, who was born in Cambodia, is one of six children Jolie shares with ex-husband Brad Pitt. Somehow, seeing him as a full-grown adult is just one of those things that makes a pop culture aficionado pause and go, “wow, has it really been that long?” We can confirm: It has.
Mother and son both have longstanding connections with the region, which explains their attendance at the event. Maddox even attended Yonsei University in Seoul to study biochemistry (and is definitely not making art under the pseudonym Embtto, to be clear). Jolie, for her part, has participated in humanitarian efforts in South Korea, most recently visiting with Maddox in 2019 to drop him off at school, and previously in 2018 with the UN Refugee Agency.
She also co-authored a book with Amnesty International, Know Your Rights and Claim Them, which is about youth rights and was made available in South Korea last year.
Jolie wore a flowing off-white dress paired with a vintage Chanel blazer and her own jewelry, according to her representatives.
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
“I had no damn idea you could sing,” Biden told Yoon.
Shiplap enthusiasts and home decor moguls Chip and Joanna Gaines were also on hand at the dinner, as well as snowboarder Chloe Kim. The gathered guests dined on Maryland crab cakes with gochujang vinaigrette, and after hearing Yoon detail his trips to the levy in his Chevy, watched Biden present him with a guitar signed by McLean himself.
By Sophie Schillaci, ETOnline.com. Published: Last updated:
Angelina Jolie and Maddox Jolie-Pitt enjoyed a high-profile night out on Wednesday.
The mother-son duo looked chic as they attended the State Dinner hosted by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, honouring South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee.
Maddox, 21, wore a black suit for the occasion with Jolie, 47, opting for a flowy cream-coloured dress and jacket. The actress styled her tresses down in loose waves and completed the look with a red lip and classic pearl jewelry.
According to a White House press release issued last month, the dinner marked the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance, “which is critical to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity for our two countries, the Indo-Pacific, and around the world.”
Angelina Jolie and Maddox Jolie-Pitt arrive to attend a state dinner in honour of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee hosted by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Among the other celebrity guests at Wednesday’s dinner were Chip and Joanna Gaines. Earlier this month, the Magnolia Network stars shared touching footage from their family’s recent visit to Seoul, Korea, where Joanna’s mom, Nan Stevens, is from.
“For years, my mother has talked about taking her three daughters to Seoul, Korea when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. And for years, that’s all it was — a dream we’d talk about in that ‘maybe, someday’ way we all do when something feels just a little out of reach,” the mother of five shared. “But this year, we decided to finally book it, and we convinced 24 members of our family to come with us to visit the place where my mom grew up.”
While on the trip, Joanna said that she met family she’d only ever seen pictures of and saw the famous cherry blossom trees in full bloom.
“We walked the same streets my mother did as a young girl, and then again as a young woman with my dad’s hand in hers. In a lot of ways, this trip felt like coming home,” the home renovator wrote. “Somehow, connecting with my mom’s past made my own story feel more complete. Feeling grateful for every moment this trip gave us ❤️🇰🇷”
Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim and L.A. Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park, the first South Korea-born player in U.S. Major League Baseball history, were also among the attendees.
Broadway stars Norm Lewis, Lea Salonga and Jessica Vosk also performed at the event.
“What was very beautiful is the way everybody said goodbye. When it was time to take him to the airport — some jumped into the car to take him — and everybody was, it was very…,” Jolie told ET on the red carpet, her voice trailing off. “When you know that your kids love each other and you see the way they all — without any kind of prompting or pushing — give each other notes, hug each other, take each other, support each other, then you feel like they’re going to be okay and they’re always going to have each other.”
Jolie adorably admitted to embarrassing her children with an “ugly cry,” revealing that she had a difficult time walking away from Maddox.
“I also, just at some point, had the big [sun]glasses and the amount of times I turned and waved. I do know it was the one moment in my life I think I turned around six times before the airport just… and he sweetly stayed and kept waving, knowing that I was going to keep turning around. You could feel he knew he couldn’t leave,” she said. “It’s nice to know how much he knows he’s loved.”
Jolie continued gushing over her child, whom she adopted from an orphanage in Cambodia when he was seven months old, in a separate 2019 interview with ET.
“I’m so happy for him that [Maddox has] grown up into such a good man,” she shared. “I say that ’cause he’s smart and he’s doing his work but he’s also wild. He’s balanced in his teenage years.”
Jolie also revealed, “He got tattooed.”
Maddox returned to the U.S. in 2020 amid the pandemic.
Including Maddox, Jolie shares six children with her ex-husband, Brad Pitt: Pax Thien, 19, Zahara Marley, 18, Shiloh Nouvel, 16, and twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, 14.
Wednesday’s appearance comes months after Jolie stepped down from her role with the United Nations, where she also served on the high-profile U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees Special Envoy, after more than 20 years.
“I am stepping down today from my work with the UN Refugee Agency,” Jolie said in an Instagram post. “I believe in many things the UN does, particularly the lives it saves through emergency relief. UNHCR is full of amazing people making a difference to people’s lives every day. Refugees are the people I admire most in the world and I am dedicated to working with them for the rest of my life. I will be working now with organizations led by people most directly affected by conflict, that give the greatest voice to them.”
