You'll never guess what A-list actress Angelina Jolie has in common with reality star Phaedra Parks of Real Housewives of Atlanta. I'll give you a hint: It's NOT about housewifery, and it IS all about DEATH. I know, you're shocked, right? Angelina Jolie has morbid tendencies? Of course, dahhhling, this is the woman who used to wear a vial of her lover's blood around her neck! But what about the Atlanta Housewife? Well, turns out, both ladies are harboring a creepy desire to become morticians.
Yes, in the current season of Real Housewives of Atlanta, successful lawyer and new mom Phaedra Parks investigates a new family business as a funeral director. Then, on this week's 60 Minutes, Angelina Jolie revealed that if she hadn't become an actress, she was going to become a funeral director, too.
Angelina insists her interest in the death biz is not about a morbid fascination with death. It has more to do with how much better bereaved families could be treated. "It sounds like this very strange, eccentric, dark thing to do, but, in fact, I lost my grandfather and was very upset with his funeral." What was she upset about? Seemingly everything: "How somebody passes and how family deals with this passing and what death is should be addressed in a different way." I wish we could see what Angelina Jolie would do with the whole experience, but now that she's directing films instead of funeral homes, I guess we'll never know!
Meanwhile, Phaedra caught the mortician bug while planning her great aunt's funeral. It meant so much to her that the funeral director made her whole family feel cared for during this vulnerable time, right? Um, no. What fuels Phaedra's ambition is the financial opportunity. "I'm the master of getting some money!" EEEERK! Oh no, is Phaedra going to turn out to be exactly the kind of funeral director Angelina was reacting against?
When she meets with her new mentor, superstar funeral director Willie Watkins, he has to remind her that running a funeral home has to come from the heart -- it's all about family and compassion. Maybe we should have Phaedra sit down with Angelina Jolie for a little chat? Watch Angelina talk about the career path she would have taken "if this whole acting thing didn't work out."
What do you think about Angelina Jolie as a funeral director? Can you picture her in that business?
Image via chris_natt/Flickr and Bravo