Angelina Jolie poses covered with bees for World Bee Day

By Cover Media

European premiere of 'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' held at ODEON BFI IMAX - Arrivals

Featuring: Angelina Jolie
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 09 Oct 2019
Credit: Keith Mayhew/Cover Images
European premiere of 'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' held at ODEON BFI IMAX - Arrivals Featuring: Angelina Jolie Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Oct 2019 Credit: Keith Mayhew/Cover Images

Angelina Jolie had to forgo showering for three days ahead of her toughest stunt yet – posing with endangered bees.

The Tomb Raider star had bees on her body for a stunning portrait, taken by photographer Dan Winters for National Geographic’s World Bee Day, to highlight the urgent need to protect the bee population.

And Jolie, who has been designated the “godmother” for Women for Bees, a programme launched by the United Nation’s UNESCO to train and support female beekeeper-entrepreneurs around the world – gave an insight into her preparation for the snap, which included avoiding soap and water.

“It was so funny to be in hair and make-up and wiping yourself with pheromone,” she told National Geographic. “We couldn’t shower for three days before. Because they told me, ‘If you have all these different scents, shampoos and perfumes and things, the bee doesn’t know what you are.’ … Then you put a few things up your nose and in your ears so you don’t give them as many holes to climb in.”

The 45-year-old shared that she did have additional hazards to navigate during the shoot.

“I did have one that got under my dress the entire time. It was like one of those old comedies,” she said. “I kept feeling it on my knee, on my leg, and then I thought, ‘Oh, this is the worst place to get stung. It’s getting really close.’ It stayed there the entire time we were doing the shoot. And then when I got all the other bees off, I lifted the skirt and he went away.”

Jolie added that despite the worry it “felt lovely to be connected to these beautiful creatures”.

“You have to be really still and in your body, in the moment, which is not easy for me,” the actress recalled. “I think part of the thought behind it was, this creature is seen as dangerous sometimes or stinging. So how do we just be with it? The intention is we share this planet. We are affected by each other. This is what it should feel like and it really did, and I felt very honoured and very lucky to have the experience.”

 

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