Revisiting Angelina Jolie’s Reign as the Original Goth Girl of Summer

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Revisiting Angelina Jolie’s Reign as the Original Goth Girl of Summer

Revisiting Angelina Jolie’s Reign as the Original Goth Girl of Summer

There’s a certain alchemy to Angelina Jolie’s style, a magnetic pull that fuses dark glamour with sultry confidence. And now, as a new coven of LA Goth Girls stalks the streets and Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Addams returns to screens, it’s time to give credit where it’s due: Angelina Jolie—if not the original, then certainly the Nineties'most iconic macabre muse.

Angelina Jolie at the 72nd Annual Academy Awards

Angelina Jolie at the 72nd Annual Academy Awards

Like much of her legacy—as an UNHCR Special Envoy, she’s led over 60 field missions, advocated for refugees, and co-founded global foundations—Angelina Jolie’s influence on fashion is often underestimated.

That’s because her influence has never been loud or performative. She’s not a trend-chaser; she’s an iconoclast. In an era defined by grunge, her look was dark but not tortured, glamorous but never excessive. Her wardrobe has always been an exercise in restraint. Her ‘90s and early 2000s aesthetic offers a masterclass in making darkness alluring rather than daunting.

Angelina Jolie at the 1997 Cable ACE Awards

Angelina Jolie at the 1997 Cable ACE Awards

It’s no coincidence then that Jolie’s breakout role had a gothic undercurrent. In the 1999 cult classic Girl, Interrupted, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her intense portrayal of Lisa Rowe, but it’s her character’s look and energy that still echo across Instagram carousels and designer mood-boards today. Throughout the late ‘90s, Jolie’s style, in turn, became an extension of that raw, magnetic energy.

Two-time Golden Globe Award winner Angelina Jolie portrays Lisa, a seductive sociopath on the ward who befriends Susanna in the Columbia Pictures presentation, "Girl, Interrupted." Photo credit: Suzanne Tenner 1999 Columbia Pictures, Inc.

Angelina Jolie as Lisa in "Girl, Interrupted", 1999

By the late Nineties, Hollywood was in the midst of another reinvention. The glossy, ultra-feminine stars of the 80s were being replaced by a new wave of actresses and Angelina Jolie quickly became a poster child for this shift. Her look, too, became a defining aesthetic of a new generation’s darker fantasies as captured in films like Gregg Araki’s The Doom Generation, and the cult classic Thirteen.

Jolie’s androgynous edge—still a rarity in the not-so-distant 90s—paired with sleek silhouettes from Versace and Tom Ford, made her a symbol of both rebellion and sensuality. Like Hollywood femme fatales before, she embraced a cinematic noir aesthetic, often with a certain vampiric mystique, which not only became her signature look, subverted mainstream beauty ideals.

Angelina Jolie at the New York Screening of "Gia"

Angelina Jolie at the New York Screening of "Gia"

What set Jolie apart wasn’t just her love of black clothing; it was how she wore it. It’s easy today to forget how boundary-pushing it was for a major star to dabble with androgyny and a punk sensibility—two of Jolie’s defining features. Whether in custom Versace suits, tailored blazers, or graphic tees, she blurred the lines between masculine and feminine in a way that remains effortlessly cool.

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Her makeup and hair were equally striking. Dark eyeliner, deep red lips, and mussed-up hair added to her air of rebellious glamour, while her high cheekbones and ethereal features amplified that gothic mystique—offering a kind of sensuality that didn’t rely on softness.

Angelina Jolie at the Premiere of "Playing God", 1997

Angelina Jolie at the Premiere of "Playing God", 1997

Today, as Goth Girl Summer emerges as one of the defining aesthetics of 2025, Jolie’s influence is impossible to ignore. The dark, minimalist glamour she pioneered is back, seen in everything from oversized leather coats to lace-up boots and blood-red lipstick.

Angelina Jolie didn’t just wear dark fashion; she made it empowering, laying the groundwork for today’s embrace of gothic chic as a statement of both confidence and individuality.

Angelina Jolie Through The Ages
Sixteen year old actress Angelina Jolie poses for a portrait session on January 11, 1991 in Los Angeles, California.
A sixteen year old Angelina Jolie poses for a portrait session on January 11, 1991 in Los Angeles, California. (Image credit: Harry Langdon via Getty Images)
Angelina Jolie arrives at the Oscar de la Hoya fight at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, 21st May 1999.
Angelina Jolie, 1999. (Image credit: Vinnie Zuffante via Getty Images)
Angelina Jolie and James Haven at the 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards
Angelina Jolie and James Haven at the 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards(Image credit: KMazur/WireImage via Getty Images)
Angelina Jolie at the "Mr. And Mrs. Smith" Los Angeles Premiere, 2005
Angelina Jolie at the "Mr. And Mrs. Smith" Los Angeles Premiere, 2005(Image credit: Getty Images)
Angelina Jolie arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards at the Hollywood & Highland Center February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.
Angelina Jolie at the 84th Annual Academy Awards, 2012 (Image credit: Ethan Miller via Getty Images))
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