I always play women I would date.

In the bold and self-assured words of Angelina Jolie, we find a reflection that speaks not only to the art of acting but to the art of living: “I always play women I would date.” To the casual listener, this may sound like a playful remark, but beneath its wit lies a deeper revelation — a philosophy of authenticity, admiration, and empowerment. Through this statement, Jolie unveils her devotion to portraying women of strength, courage, and allure — not because they please the world, but because they inspire her. Her words remind us that true artistry and true humanity both arise from love — the love of character, of truth, and of the indomitable feminine spirit.

For in truth, what does it mean to “play women I would date”? It means, at its core, to embody women one could fall in love with — not for their perfection, but for their depth. The women Jolie portrays — from Lara Croft to Maleficent, from Gia to Changeling’s Christine Collins — are fierce, flawed, and fearless. They are women who live with fire in their hearts, women who challenge power rather than bow to it. Jolie’s choice of roles reflects her own reverence for women who move through the world with integrity, curiosity, and self-possession. To “date” such a woman, in spirit, is to honor her as an equal — to see her not as a figure of beauty alone, but as a mirror of one’s own courage.

The origin of this quote rests in Jolie’s long and complex relationship with her craft and her identity. From her earliest films, she sought not to perform for approval but to explore the extremes of human emotion — the wildness, the pain, the freedom that society often hides in women. In an age when many female roles were written as accessories to male stories, she sought out characters who were entire universes of their own. Her words are not mere vanity; they are a declaration of creative philosophy. She does not wish to portray women who exist to be loved — she chooses to portray women who command love through their strength.

This spirit is not new. In the annals of history, we find many women who, like Jolie’s heroines, lived on their own terms — Cleopatra, who ruled with intellect and seduction; Joan of Arc, who led armies not with softness, but with divine conviction; Frida Kahlo, who turned her pain into art and refused to be defined by any man. These women, like the characters Jolie brings to life, were those one could “date” only if one could stand beside them, not above them. They demanded partnership, not possession. They reflected the truth that to love such a woman — or to be such a woman — is to live in the full radiance of self-awareness and fire.

Jolie’s statement also carries within it a message about self-love. When she says she plays women she would date, she is, in a way, saying that she portrays women she admires and aspires to be. In this, there is no arrogance, but wholeness — the understanding that we must fall in love with the parts of ourselves that are powerful, untamed, and beautiful. To admire such qualities in others is to awaken them in ourselves. Her philosophy teaches us that one should choose to embody — in art or in life — only what one respects. To live as she acts is to walk through the world surrounded by versions of oneself that are brave enough to challenge injustice and passionate enough to create change.

But beyond artistry and admiration, there is in this quote an echo of rebellion — a refusal to accept the narrow mold that the world often imposes upon women. Jolie’s words say, in essence: I will not play the passive, the silenced, the ornamental. Instead, she chooses to inhabit women of agency and complexity, women who can be loved not for submission but for strength. This is the cry of every soul that has ever refused to be diminished by expectation. It is a reminder that our choices — whether in art, in love, or in life — should be guided not by what is expected, but by what ignites the heart.

The lesson, then, is both personal and universal: live in admiration of the qualities that awaken your soul. Seek out and embody what you would love — whether that be in others, in your work, or in yourself. If you are to create, create something you could fall in love with. If you are to live, live as someone whose spirit you would choose to date — fierce, honest, compassionate, and free. Practically, this means to honor your own strength, to refuse to shrink for comfort, and to cultivate the kind of life and character that even you would stand in awe of.

So remember, O listener, the wisdom in Angelina Jolie’s seemingly playful words. She speaks not of vanity, but of reverence — reverence for the power and beauty that dwell within the human soul, especially within women who dare to live fully. To “play women I would date” is to live in pursuit of greatness, to love deeply, to act bravely, and to create truthfully. Let each of us, in our own way, strive to become the kind of person we would fall in love with — strong, alive, unafraid — and in doing so, we will not only find love, but embody it.