Jon Voight is such a doting grandpa! Angelina Jolie's dad revealed how Maddox is faring at university in South Korea -- as well as how his other grandkids are doing -- EXCLUSIVELY to HollywoodLife!
Jon Voight, 81, is beaming with pride over his six grandchildren — particularly 18-year-old Maddox Jolie-Pitt, who is the first to go off to college! “Oh, I think it’s great,” Jon gushed when asked about Maddox at the Gold Meets Golden brunch in Beverly Hills on Saturday, Jan. 4. “This is wonderful, he’s going to college — then he chooses to go to South Korea. Unbelievable. So that’s great,” he added. Maddox began studying biochemistry at South Korea’s prestigious Yonsei University back in September, and proud mom Angelina Jolie, 44, was on-hand for the emotional drop-off!
=The big move marks the first time one of Brad Pittand Angelina’s kids has moved away from home, but Jon hinted that his grandson was more this next step. “Maddox has learned several languages,” the proud grandpa revealed. “[All the kids have] been homeschooled. He learned five languages. I don’t know how he did it! He’s got a great gift for it.” Impressive! Angelina has previously said that the Jolie-Pitt kids — also including Pax, 16, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 13, Vivienne, 11 and Knox, 11 — speak a whopping seven languages between them! “I asked them what languages they wanted to learn and Shiloh’s learning Khmer, which is the Cambodian language, Pax is focusing on Vietnamese, Mad has taken to German and Russian, Zahara’s speaking French, Vivienne really wanted to learn Arabic and Knox is learning sign language,” she revealed in a 2016 interview with BBC Woman’s Hour.
The Jolie-Pitt siblings have been reportedly struggling with the move of their big brother Mad, but Jon confirmed that the family has already checked in on the 18-year-old in Seoul. “They went and visited, they all went and visited,” Jon confirmed, also adding Angelina — who is used to “jumping around” — is doing “great” since the emotional move. “She’s with [her other kids] every second,” Jon added. In a video captured on the university campus back in August, the Mistress of Evil star admitted that she was “trying not to cry” as she prepared to leave South Korea that day! Her eldest did take a trip to see his mom at the Maleficent: Mistress of Evil premiere in Tokyo, Japan — just a short two hour flight from Seoul — in October and the pair looked so sweet as they posed for photos!
While Angelina opted not to attend college, Jon reflected on his own fond memories while studying art at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. “At college, I was so happy to be in college,” the Yonkers, New York native admitted. “I didn’t miss being home. I wanted to be there and make new friends.” The Oscar winner later graduated with a B.A. in 1960 before ultimately pursuing a career in acting.
When it comes to his other grandkids, grandpa Jon revealed just how impressed he is with each of them. “Each of the kids has their own gifts, they’re all very special and all very unique,” the four-time Golden Globe winner continued. “Each one of them is unique so — it’s like going from one country to another with each of them. Very, very interesting people.” As for whether his other five grandkids will follow in his — and Maddox’s — footsteps, Jon had an inkling that will likely be the case. “You can’t tell if any of them will go to school…I assume some of them will,” he also revealed.
