Angelina Jolie Puts Kids First  5/30/07

Angelina Jolie will always put her children before her efforts to save the world and fight for humanitarian causes - because that's what her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, would have wanted.

The actress admits memories of her own upbringing often make her stop and consider her four kids before taking on huge projects.

Jolie says, "She would spend months trying to just work out my birthday parties. She would spend a full day trying to compose the nicest letter to thanks somebody for something they did.

"Sometimes, when I want to take on the world, I try to remember that it's just as important to sit down and ask my son how he's feeling or talk to him about life.

"You realize that we have all these big ideas, but if we don't have that central warmth, it's nothing."

But Bertrand's legacy has left the actress with one tough task - she has to make the holidays extra special.

She adds, "I never really focused on holidays... but I remember every little Easter basket she ever made me.

"This year I suddenly feel I've got to do all that, and I've got to do it with a bit of thought and a lot of time."