Angelina Jolie Goes Barefoot on The Tonight Show After Decade Away from Talk Shows: Why She Ditched Her Shoes

• Angelina Jolie appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote her movie Maria, during which the host noticed she wasn’t wearing shoes
• The Oscar winner explained she’d recently broken her toe, and had opted to go barefoot as a result
• Jolie further admitted that she was “nervous” on talk shows, having not appeared on one for more than 10 years, and discussed her kids’ desire for privacy in their personal lives

Angelina Jolie made an unexpected fashion statement during her first talk-show appearance in a decade. 

The Maria actress stepped out on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in a flowing black gown, opting to go sans footwear as she walked across the stage at Studio 6B in Rockefeller Center.

“I noticed that you’re barefoot,” host Jimmy Fallon questioned Jolie, 49, during the episode that aired on Thursday, Dec. 5. “Did you forget your shoes?”

The Academy Award winner chuckled, sharing, “No, I broke my toe yesterday, and I tried to find a comfortable shoe, but I just decided to not.”

Jolie flashed her bare feet with dark painted toenails while sitting in the guest seat next to Fallon’s desk. And as the interview began, the mother of six admitted to being out of her comfort zone. 

“By the way, I get very nervous on talk shows,” she shared. “I get very uncomfortable, and I haven’t done one for, like, a decade. This is so not my thing.”

Jolie — who shares Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16, with ex Brad Pitt — spoke about her children’s interests and feelings toward the entertainment industry. 

“I think some of them [want to work] off-camera, behind the scenes, but they really, really want to be — especially Shiloh — they want to be private,” Jolie told Fallon, 50. “Just private, not photographed, not on the thing. I think, her most of all, would like privacy.”

“It just must get so tricky, because everyone’s famous,” Fallon noted.

“But it wasn’t their choice,” the Maleficent star explained. “So some people are more comfortable with public, some people are more comfortable with talk shows.”

Jolie echoed this statement during a Nov. 21 appearance on Good Morning America, sharing, “None of my children want to be in front of the camera [at] this time. They’re quite private.”

“Shiloh’s extremely private,” she added, before further explaining, “They weren’t born with privacy, right? So, I hope that they can have that as they grow old. So we’ll see.”

Jolie’s appearance on the show comes in promotion of her new Pablo Larraín-directed biopic Maria, in which she played the titular opera singer Maria Callas.

The movie received rousing standing ovations at both the Venice International Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival — including an eight-minute one in Italy, which moved Jolie to tears — and is generating Oscar buzz for the star.

Earlier this week, Jolie spoke to her late mother Marcheline Bertrand’s influence on her life and career as she was honored at the Gotham Awards for her performance in Maria. (Bertrand died in 2007 at age 56 after a battle with ovarian cancer.)

“In Maria’s memory, thinking of my mom … for all those who teach and inspire art in others, all the young artists growing up and everyone in this room who celebrates creativity and expression, I am really, really honored to be here with all of you and to be a part of this community,” Jolie said, in part.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.