Angelina Jolie Made Her on Screen Debut in the Video for this ‘90s Romantic Ballad
Before she was a global A-lister and an Oscar winner, Angelina made her on-screen acting debut aged 16 in a mostly forgotten music video.
The young actress starred in the music video "Alta Marea" by Antonello Venditti, a cover of "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House. At the time, she had modeled but was still an unknown name as an actress.
"At the casting, among about 200 girls, a very thin 16-year-old teenager with amazing lips and t--- also passed by," reads the description of the video published on YouTube by SalvatiChannel, per Today Italy.
"In person, she was like many others, in fact, she was even a little short (she didn't even reach 1.70 m), but in front of the camera she was fabulous! I chose her for the leading role... her name was Angelina Jolie and "Alta Marea" was her first work."
The track is a beloved Italian pop song that blends Venditti's signature Italian pop with the soaring, power ballad melodies of the 1980s original.
The moody video shows the young actress posing for the camera and reading a love letter. In hindsight, the video is quite alarming as it sees a very young Jolie flirting with much older male co-stars.
Before becoming a screen icon, she logged numerous music videos under her belt. She also appeared in the 1994 Meat Loaf video for "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through", where she played a runaway teenager who finds an old jukebox in a junkyard that explodes.
Her other on-screen credits include Lenny Kravitz's "Stand by My Woman" music video, Widespread Panic's "Wonderin'" music video, The Lemonheads' music video for "It's About Time", and The Rolling Stones' music video for "Anybody Seen My Baby?".
More recently, she appeared in her ex-husband's, Billy Bob Thornton's, music video for "Angelina" and Korn's "Did My Time" video.
Related: Angelina Jolie Opens up About 'Renewed Desire to Live Life' and Her New Movie
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 3:47 PM.