Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt‘s son Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt told PEOPLE in 2017 that his mom is “a wonder,” as much for her parenting as her famous acting skills.

Jolie became a mother for the first time when she adopted Maddox in 2002. Though she welcomed Maddox into her family as a single mom, Pitt later filed to become his adoptive father after he and Jolie began dating a few years later.

After filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in Cambodia, the actress decided to adopt a child from the country. Though Maddox was raised in the states, Jolie has said she tried to maintain her son’s connection to his home country throughout his childhood. She even took on the film adaptation of the Cambodian story First They Killed My Father at Maddox’s request — a project they worked on together in 2017.

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The producer has often talked about her pride for her firstborn son, who is now 22.

“I’m so happy for [Maddox] that he’s grown up into such a good man,” Jolie told Entertainment Tonight in 2019. “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.”

Earlier that year, as Maddox headed off to Yonsei University in South Korea, Jolie told PEOPLE, “I’m nothing but proud. I look forward to all he will do.”

Here is everything to know about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s oldest son, Maddox Jolie-Pitt.

He was born in 2001

Angelina Jolie with her son Maddox at the World Premiere of “Shark Tale” as part of the 61st Venice Film Festival on Sept. 10, 2004.PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN/GETTY 

Maddox was born on Aug. 5, 2001, in the town of Battambang, Cambodia. Jolie said she fell in love with the country while filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider one year earlier, and instantly connected with Maddox upon meeting him at the orphanage where he spent his first 7 months of life.

The By The Sea star told Vanity Fair in 2017 that she “cried and cried” when she saw Maddox for the first time, and immediately knew he was meant to be her son.

Though Jolie was married to actor Billy Bob Thornton when she met Maddox, she went through with the adoption on her own and the couple broke up a few months later. In 2005, Jolie began dating Pitt, and within the year he started the process to become Maddox’s adoptive father.

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Maddox is following in his parents’ footsteps

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt with their son Maddox at the premiere of “Invictus” on Dec. 3, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.KEVIN WINTER/GETTY 

Maddox quickly took an interest in his parents’ careers, and first appeared as an uncredited zombie in his dad’s 2013 movie World War Z. Not long after, he became an executive producer at just 15 years old when he worked on First They Killed My Father, Jolie’s film adaptation of her friend Loung Ung‘s book about the Cambodian genocide.

“I was trying to help wherever I could,” Maddox told PEOPLE in 2017 of the filming experience. He was excited about the opportunity to learn more about his birth country and to work with Jolie, which he loved. “[She’s] fun, funny, and easy to work with,” he said of his mom. “She’s a wonder.”

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While Pitt enjoys sharing an interest in film with his son, he has said it is more important to him that Maddox goes with his intuition and does what makes him happy.

“Listen, I want them to follow their bliss, follow their passions, whatever they’re most interested in,” he said in the press room of the 2020 Oscars. “It’s about guiding as you can.”

He is proud of his Cambodian heritage

Angelina Jolie with her kids Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt and Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt with Loung Ung, Rithy Panh and Him Sophy at Bangsokol: A Requiem for Cambodia on Dec. 16, 2017 in New York City.CINDY ORD/GETTY 

While Maddox visited Cambodia as a kid, he really got the chance to learn about the country while working on First They Killed My Father with his mom.

“He goes back and forth [to Cambodia] a lot, but this would be over four months of just being in the country, really reading, listening, learning and absorbing all things about his culture and country [including] the very, very dark parts,” Jolie told PEOPLE in 2017. “But Mad knows himself very well and if he said he was ready, I knew he knew.”

When asked what he loved most about the country, Maddox said, “the people, by far.”

“[They are] calm, relaxed, and when they want to do something wild, they do it — much like me in a way,” he explained. “I’m proud to be a Cambodian.”

Maddox has many talents

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s son Maddox Jolie-Pitt in New York on June 19, 2016.CALLAHAN/ACE/SHUTTERSTOCK 

Beyond filmmaking, Maddox has lots of interests and skills.

“He’s quite capable and always takes me by surprise,” Jolie told PEOPLE in 2017. “He’s been practicing flying, then they called me the other day and said, ‘So Mad can go solo,’ and I nearly dropped the phone!”

The Girl, Interrupted star shared that her son is also multilingual, having taken French and Russian classes.

“I hear him talking in full, fluent French, and they’ll tell me he’s reached a certain level in his German, and I have no idea,” she shared. “He doesn’t do it in front of me.” Maddox also learned how to speak Korean before college.

He went to university in South Korea

Angelina Jolie and her son Maddox Jolie-Pitt attend the “First They Killed My Father” premiere during the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 11, 2017 in Toronto, Canada.ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/GETTY 

In 2019, a source told PEOPLE that Maddox would be attending college in South Korea to study biochemistry.

“He got accepted to other universities but chose Yonsei [University],” the source said. “He has been studying Korean language. He has lessons multiple times a week to prepare.”

Jolie was seen dropping Maddox off at his new home in Seoul in August 2019 and she admitted to Entertainment Tonight later that month that despite having an “embarrass-your-children ugly cry,” it was still a sweet family moment.

“What was very beautiful is the way everybody said goodbye,” she recalled. “When you know that your kids love each other and you see the way they all … 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.”

When Maddox was forced to move home in 2020 and study remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic Jolie told the DongA Daily, “I could not be happier about Mad’s choice of university. He’s not transferring school, he’ll be back as soon as things settle.”

“We are all so happy, as a family, that we will have the opportunity to get to know South Korea even better through Maddox, and with him, during his studies,” Jolie added.

Maddox has attended events with his parents

Angelina Jolie and her son Maddox Jolie-Pitt arrive for the State Dinner in honor of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 26, 2023.STEFANI REYNOLDS / AFP / GETTY 

Maddox has attended interesting Hollywood and political happenings through the years. He has walked the red carpet with his parents many times, including the 2013 Governors Awards, the Tokyo premiere of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in 2019 and the Eternals United Kingdom premiere two years later.

Maddox even visited the White House in 2023 when he and his mother attended a state dinner hosted by President Joe Biden in honor of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee.

“Asia-America relations are important to Angelina’s family. She and the children have had close ties to the region, including South Korea, for many years,” a source close to the actress told PEOPLE at the time. “Angelina has visited South Korea many times for her humanitarian and refugee advocacy over the past two decades, and as an artist. Angelina and Maddox are honored to attend this State Dinner.”