Angelina Jolie may be known around the globe for her gorgeous guy and luscious lips, but the 36-year-old actress would rather be recognized for being a caring mother and humanitarian.

In regards to child rearing, Jolie is following in the footsteps of her late mother, Marcheline, and says her mom’s loving and gentle ways have greatly influenced the manner she and partner, Brad Pitt, are raising their culturally blended brood of six.

Although Marcheline succumbed to cancer in 2007 at the age of 57, Jolie feels that her mother taught her invaluable lessons not only about being a great mother but being your child’s friend as well.

“My mum always made it clear that I was her friend – and that is a lesson on how to bring up my own children,” Jolie tells The Sun. “When we talked, I felt she wanted to hear what I had to say. She enjoyed me and I feel I’m enjoying my kids. We play together, we dance. Even though they’re all from different backgrounds, they feel like they’re part of the same family. My mum was my heroine. She was a generous, warm individual, who led a very private life but walked through it with kindness and grace.”

Jolie went on to reveal that she lived with her boyfriend at the age of 14 — in her mother’s house!

“One of my boyfriends lived with me at my mum’s house when I was just 14. It was the smartest thing my mother could have done because, this way, we weren’t hanging out in a park together. We lived like a married couple for two years. By the time I was 16, I wanted my freedom and wanted to focus on work. So I graduated from high school early and went to work. I did not date until I met Jonny (Brit actor Jonny Lee Miller, her first husband) aged 19. I was my mum’s girlfriend. So I was able to talk to her about everything. I was drawn to acting as a little girl.”

Jolie claims that her mother taught her children the value of self-reflection and the ability to look inwards to answer questions.

“Any time I had a problem, Mum would ask: “What are you feeling? What are you thinking? What are you doing? So she taught me to question myself. We would jokingly call her Marshmallow, instead of Marcheline, because she was the most gentle person in the world. But when it came to her kids, she was fierce in their protection.”

She went on to say that life is good at the Jolie-Pitt household.

Jolie says, “I am so blessed to have healthy children and a great partner. We are having a wonderful time raising our kids together. There is a lot of love in our home.”

Photos: Flynet