Jolie is grateful for new son
2002-03-13 11:41
Los Angeles - Film stars Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton have named their adopted son Maddox and said the 7-1/2 month-old boy will be raised both in the United States and in Cambodia, where he was born.
News of Jolie and Thornton's new son came from Jolie's father, Jon Voight, at a luncheon for Academy Award nominees on Monday, and the new parents said it took them by surprise.
They had received Maddox only that day in Africa where Jolie is working on her latest film.
"We are very grateful to have him in our lives," the two said in a joint statement.
Jolie and Thornton said in the statement they first met the baby boy in an orphanage during a trip to Cambodia in November, and they "felt a connection" to him.
Over the past several months, the two parents - she a star of last summer's hit Tomb Raider and he of more recent films The Man Who Wasn't There and Monster's Ball - have had their backgrounds checked for Cambodian officials.
They said Maddox finally received a Cambodian passport, and he will be spending the next few months with his adoptive parents in Africa and Asia.
While he has an American name, they will also give him a Cambodian name, the two said.
"In May, we return home where his brothers Willie and Harry are very excited to meet him," they said.
Willie and Harry are Thornton's sons from a marriage with his previous wife, Pietra.