Angelina Jolie is PARADE’s July 11 cover story! Angelina sits down with PARADE’s Dotson Rader and talks about everything from her home life with Brad Pitt and their children to her late mother, a rebellious youth, and run-ins with the paparazzi. Here are some highlights from the interview:

When Rader asks if their children are the reason she and Brad stay together, “she looks at me like I am nuts.” Jolie tells Dotson:
“The children certainly tie us together, but a relationship won’t hold if it’s only about the kids. You also must be really interested in each other and have a really, really wonderful, exciting time together. We do. Brad and I love being together. We enjoy it. We need it, and we always find that special time. We stay connected. We talk about it. It’s very important. If Brad and I are strong and happy, then our kids have happy parents, and that’s the best thing we can give them.” She adds, “Brad knows me completely, exactly as I am, every part of me. He loves me. The kids love me. They know all my flaws and all my oddities. And they accept them. And so I can feel complete.”

On her rebellious past…
“I used to cut myself or jump out of airplanes, trying to find something new to push up against because sometimes everything else felt too easy. I was searching for something deeper, something more. I tried everything. I always felt caged, closed in, like I was punching at things that weren’t there. I always had too much energy for the room I was in.”

Read the rest of the highlights here.