On her epiphany that lobbying was worth it: "As it came down to it, you could build a well, buy soap, spend time with refugees to hear them tell their stories, but it became clear there were decisions being made back home in Washington, and it became clear to me that I had to do something to influence these decisions, no matter how many stories I would be willing to listen to in the field."

On chances she’d ever run for office: "It’s difficult, as much as I’d love to get more involved in different ways, I am able to work with everyone [as an actress], I’m able to do a lot from the position I stand on. Otherwise, I would have to take a side, and I don’t know I’d be very good. I don’t have the confidence … if that day comes, it would surprise me more than anyone."

On her standing in Washington: "I am very aware in [Washington] I don’t have the education or background that is typical. I feel like a little punk kid dressed up in a suit. But I have traveled for about six years to several places around the world and have seen very shocking and disturbing things. Look, I’m just an actress in a silly profession."

On Shiloh’s birth: "It’s different to say that you choose to bring a child into existence. I didn’t choose to bring my two adopted children to life. Strangely enough, I was concerned about [this difference], and I have been making a point recently to give my adopted children more attention. But I feel now I love them equally … and I am very lucky that I am not a single parent. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for mothers who have to go back to work so soon. "

On working with Republicans: "Fortunately, my issues are not partisan issues. Certainly, you learn to work with anybody–I’ve worked with the most hard-core Republicans. Why? I can’t wait until there’s maybe a more flexible group in office."

On the Washington-Hollywood connection: "I don’t know what is a harder [place to work]. In both cities, it’s strange bedfellows. I’ve never done the cocktail party in Hollywood, but I have in Washington. Maybe I care more about policy issues than a movie role."

Angelina Jolie’s lobbying work has won wide coverage of the plight of poor children in the Third World. It has also averted her own image disaster.  Angelina tops Forbes’ List of The World’s Most Powerful Celebrities at #35, one rank behind Brad Pitt’s ex, Jennifer Aniston.  Forbes magazine managed to score an exclusive interview with Angelina Jolie amongst 1200 other media requests.  Read the full article after the jump.

VIDEO :: Watch Angleina Jolie and baby Shiloh leave their Malibu compound as their security guards attempt to shield them with blankets from prying paparazzi (they stood on the roofs of cars and climbed trees to catch a glimpse of the mommy-daughter duo).

Bad Girl Interrupted

Angelina Jolie’s charity and lobbying work has won wide coverage of the plight of poor children in the Third World. It has also averted her own image disaster.

Angelina Jolie, the oscar-winning actress and media obsession, has focused international attention on her heartfelt cause, the plight of the poorest children in the developing world. She visits refugee camps in war-torn regions of Southeast Asia to comfort hundreds of kids who have lost limbs to land mines. She lobbies Congress on behalf of orphans with AIDS. She personally has donated $4 million since 2001 to Pakistani earthquake victims and other causes, most recently to maternity wards of state hospitals in Namibia, the impoverished African nation where she gave birth to her daughter, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, on May 27.

The first photos of her new baby, which Jolie released to Getty Images (nyse: GYI - news - people ), brought a reported $4.1 million payment from People magazine–the glossy disputes the amount–and she is giving all of the proceeds to charity. But Jolie, in her first one-on-one interview since giving birth, candidly acknowledges her crusade has an extra upside: It diverts movie fans, supermarket tabloids and the media from focusing on more controversial and less attractive elements of her life.

"That is a fair assessment," she tells FORBES in an exclusive interview. Her work "is twofold: I have all that gossip in my life that has gotten so out of control. And my work in Washington and with the UN gets people to focus on other things." Jolie, 31, who won an Academy Award in 2000 for her supporting role as a mental patient in the film Girl, Interrupted, has thus been able to endure hits to her image that might otherwise have badly hurt her career.

The public-relations value of a good deed has quelled carpers who could have painted an uglier picture, say, of a home-wrecker and sex symbol who’s had an out-of-wedlock baby with a heartthrob actor she stole from America’s sweetheart. (Last year Jolie had a rumored affair with Brad Pitt, her costar in the film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, purportedly prompting him to leave his actress wife, the perky sitcom darling Jennifer Aniston. "Brangelina," as the couple has been christened in the press, have denied that marriage will follow.)

But some of the best charitable works are motivated by a personal stake. Michael Milken, the former Wall Street banker and philanthropist who survived prostate cancer, has pledged $50 million or more for research on his disease, yielding breakthrough therapies. Virgin Group Chief Richard Branson devotes money and staff for work on AIDS in South Africa, in part because he employs 4,500 there.

"It’s all about self-interest. Your experience is the epicenter of your efforts," says actor Michael J. Fox, whose Parkinson’s disease was diagnosed in 1991. He has mounted a nationwide effort to increase Parkinson’s funding and persuade Congress to override the Bush Administration’s ban on using federal dollars for research on new stem-cell lines, which might be useful in treating his debilitating disease. Had it not been diagnosed, "Would I have picked this disease out of a hat and run with it?" Fox asks. "No. Besides, it would be less authentic if I had."

So it is that Angelina Jolie, who earns $15 million per film, has benefited visibly from her good works. Her Q score, a much-watched quotient in Hollywood that gauges a star’s likability among hoi polloi, has gone up with her aid efforts. In 2000 only 31% of respondents said she was "familiar" to them, and only 14% of those viewed her positively. By 2006 she was familiar to 81% of Americans, and her positive rating had almost doubled to 25%, says Marketing Evaluations Inc. (Her negative rating rose, too, but it is lower than that of the average performer.)

Still, her improving image is in sharp contrast with the bizarre persona she had before her Third World aid efforts began in early 2001. Back then, the star with the fullest, most famous pair of lips since Mick Jagger was known for edgy eccentricity. She got multiple tattoos. She had been in naughty romps with costars. She wore, on a chain around her neck, a tiny vial of blood from her then husband, actor-writer Billy Bob Thornton. She passionately kissed her brother on the lips at the 2000 Academy Awards and spoke publicly of bisexual trysts. "In my early 20s I was fighting with myself," Jolie says. "Now I take that punk in me to Washington, and I fight for something important."

Her awakening began in early 2001, when the self-styled "sheltered Los Angeles kid," the daughter of actor Jon Voight and actress Marcheline Bertrand, began reading United Nations reports on global poverty and refugees. She approached UN officials, hoping to help but wary her offbeat image might get in the way. They sent her to paparazzi-free zones: hot spots Sierra Leone and Tanzania. In 2001 the UN High Commissioner for Refugees wanted to make her a goodwill ambassador, but she told UN officials in Geneva: "I don’t think you want me. There’s a lot of bad things written about me and my behavior. I could have a negative effect on your operations." They gave her the title anyway.

Five years later rock stars and actors dish with world leaders about global debt relief and stem-cell law. U2’s Bono held forth in January at the power-packed World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. But he was upstaged by one Angelina Jolie, who took the dais to say she was "ashamed" that the Bush Administration had refused to sign a UN bill of rights for children. The world’s most luminous tabloid target had remade herself into an efficient advocate for the Third World.

Now she also lobbies in Washington, D.C. "Hollywood types have figured out the only difference in Washington is that you’re selling bills instead of scripts," says Erik Huey, a D.C. lobbyist. Jolie, who has dropped in on scores of congressmen and senators at least 20 times in the past three years, says she hopes to return to the nation’s capital on June 20 to attend World Refugee Day. "As much as I would love to never have to visit Washington, that’s the way to move the ball," she says. And since giving birth to Shiloh, her third child–she adopted son Maddox, 4, in Cambodia and Zahara, 1, in Ethiopia–she promises more cameos on the Hill. "The more children I have, the more I feel it’s my duty," she says.

She has pushed three bills to protect children. One would have the U.S. spend $500 million next year and $15 billion over ten years, to educate kids in the poorest regions. She plans to work with Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, who has proposed it. In April, to pique interest in the press, Jolie joined in a media conference call about education when she was eight months pregnant; it generated 243 stories.

A second bill would provide legal help to alien minors (she despises the term "alien") who are alone and pass through U.S. borders. The Senate passed it in December 2005, but it has languished in the House for six months. "It’s caught up in the overall immigration debate," Jolie says, "but I just think it’s un-American to refuse refugee children access to a lawyer." But in a private meeting, Representative F. John Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin scoffed at the cost of implementing such an idea, she says. "He didn’t treat me gently–I left shaking in my heels." Her third bill, to aid 70 million "vulnerable" kids in the Third World, was signed by President Bush last November–but so far no funding has been okayed. "We worked so hard to pass a bill, and then you realize you have to figure out a way to pay for it," she gripes.

Still, Jolie got the issue to center stage. "She fills a room," says Chris Ann Keehner, a Senate staffer who helped draft the bill. "It gives a member of Congress a photo op, and it’s a way to get the message out–even if she did break up a marriage."

• I guess we can call off the baby bump watch now.  Jennifer Lopez definitely doesn’t look pregnant in this bikini she’s wearing…
• Free household products!!  Pick up a Swiffer Sweeper, Dyson Vacuum Cleaner, and Tide Detergent!
• Now it’s sister’s time!  Jessica Simpson’s nose job.
• Brandon Davis wearing a TEAM FIRE CROTCH t-shirt.  Classy.
• Natalie Portman and Gael Garcia Bernal Back Together?
• Be sure to check out CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° on Tuesday for Angelina Jolie’s interview. It should be absolutely fantastic hearing both of them giggle at the same time.  Giggle heaven.
• Sounds like Cameron Diaz will be getting a nose job of her own…
• Beyoncé gets confronted by two PETA members at NYC’s Nobu restaurant for her usage of fur in her clothing line, House of Dereon..  How embarrassing!
• Check out the pictures of the youngest Hanson brother’s wedding photos — Zac Hanson.

• Excepts from Angelina Jolie’s interview with Anderson Cooper –
  

  – "You know, because you’re there for the birth, which I wasn’t for my first two kids, you’re just suddenly terrified that they’re not gonna take a first breath."

  – "That was my whole focus. I just wanted to hear her cry."

  – "[Brad] was in the operating room, yeah, yeah.  And we had amazing doctors. And everybody was so lovely."

Jennifer Aniston’s publicists are feverishly trying to brush off rumors the actress has become engaged to boyfriend Vince Vaughn. Aniston was spotted wearing a 9.5-carat, canary diamond Suzy Fabrikant ring recently but a publicist for the former Friends star rants, "Jennifer is past the point of responding to any of these ludicrous rumors."  Above is Jen leaving her hotel in Paris and arriving in London earlier this morning.  She’s expected to walk the red carpet with Vince Vaughn (many feet apart, I’m sure) for the UK premiere of their hit romantic comedy The Break-Up.  After the jump are more pictures of Jen and Vince enjoying a candlelit dinner at the ritzy Plaza Athenee yesterday evening. More pictures in the gallery!

UPDATE :: Added pictures of Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn at the UK Premiere of The Break-Up at Vue West End, Leicester Square in London earlier today.

Hamburg, Germany :: Jennifer Aniston, 37, and Vince Vaughn, 36, walked the red carpet yesterday afternoon, arriving for a special screening of The Break-Up at the CineMaxx Cinema.  Interesting choice of dress for Aniston since she usually stays classic in black.  This is the ugliest but the funniest picture of the happy couple ever.  Yes, the photographed moved and it’s all distorted but they look hilariously disfiguired! More pictures in the gallery!

Jen and Vince visited the gardens and statues by French sculptor
Auguste Rodin at the Rodin Museum this past weekend.

The former Friends star is desperate to kick her nicotine habit but is constantly tempted to reach for the cigarette pack when she sees Vaughn continue to smoke. A source tells British tabloid the Daily Express, "Jen’s been in trouble with her doctor because she went to him for help in giving up and hasn’t. "Every time she tried, there would be Vince puffing away. "He’s not helping in the least and when she tells him off about it, he just laughs."

Quit smoking Jen and Vince, it’s healthy for you! Above, Jennifer Aniston throws up the peace sign  during her stop at ‘Le Grand Journal’, a television show in France hosted by Michel Denisot.  More pictures in the gallery!

Paris, France ::  After spending months denying they were in a relationship, Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn were pictured all over Paris these last few days.Jen, 37, and Vince, 36, were out in the Open yesterday at Roland Garros, attending the men’s singles final between Switzerland’s Roger Federer of Switzerland and Spain’s Rafael Nadal during the French Open .  No. 2-ranked Nadal beat No. 1 Federer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to win his second straight French Open title.  Many more pictures in the gallery!

Jen and Vince visited Notre Dame church and dined at the famous Parisian brasserie la Coupole (102 Boulevard Montparnasse).  The pair ended the afternoon on a boat trip down the river "Seine".  Jen was also spotted dining at the restaurant chez l’Ami Louis (32, rue du Vertbois) with friends sans Vince.

Earlier last week, Jen and Vince stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney, Australia.  One prying paparazzi snapped this photo of the happy couple at their hotel room window.

• Jessica Simpson and Sean "Diddy" Combs duke it out on the red-carpet at the CDFA Fashion Awards.
• Free Gift Cards!!  $250 Victoria’s Secret Gift Card, $250 Banana Republic Gift Card, and $250 GAP Gift Card!
• One of Jennifer Aniston’s closest friends, Tiffany Laws, said that Jen broke down in tears upon hearing news of baby Shiloh: "Jen just burst into tears. She tried to cover it up in front of Vince but he assured her it was OK to cry. I think she had the feeling, ‘That could have been my baby.’"
• Jessica Simpson and Sean "Diddy" Combs duke it out on the red-carpet at the CDFA Fashion Awards.
• Celebrities love their weed!  It’s time for another edition of Celebrity Potheads!
• Janet Jackson may have lost a ton of weight recently but why is her cleavage so weirdly shaped?
• Britney Spears registers for Sean Preston trademark!
• Lindsay Lohan likes her Coke Diet
• Jennifer Lopez is publicly denying the ongoing pregnant rumors
• Michelle Rodriguez: Death Never Looked So Hot

• In a new video interview, Angelina Jolie talks at some length about her incredible experience having a baby in Africa.
• Katie Holmes‘ father, Martin, a divorce lawyer, has negotiated for her a $33 million prenup, with an extra $3 million in spending cash and a home in her name in Montecito, Calif., Life & Style Weekly claims.
• Donald Trump is shopping a new reality TV show based on the popular board game Monopoly.
• Angelina Jolie’s tattoo has been deciphered!  It reads N11º 33′ 0" E104º 51′ 00" and N09º 02′ 00" E038º 45′ 00" — the latitude and longitude coordinates for Maddox and Zahara’s birthplaces (Cambodia and Ethiopia, respectively).
• Teri Hatcher has been cast to star in the boxing drama Resurrecting the Champ.  Hatcher hasn’t been cast in a movie since Spy Kids  in 2001.

"Unconventional romantic comedy" The Break-Up debuted at No. 1 this weekend with $38.1 million toppling over X-Men: The Last Stand, which slipped to second place with $34.35 million.  Not surprising since X3 was a load of donkey doo!!!! An editor from People said, "It’s hard to transfrom from small screen stardom to the big screen but [Jennifer Aniston] is a really, really good actress. There’s no question she’s got the chops." Looks like Aniston is here to stay! Pictures include Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn at Shutters at the Beach for The Break-Up Press Conference in Santa Monica, California.