The UK's News of the World spoke to Angelina Jolie, and she told them how she narrowly escaped being kidnapped and held for ransom by gangsters.

"It was in a small village," she says. "I won't say where, or with whom, but some gangsters planned to kidnap me and extort a massive ransom. I was warned at the last minute, and managed to escape, luckily."

Since becoming a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN, Jolie has travelled to 20 countries, and often goes to places that can be very dangerous, and are among the most underprivileged.

"It became clear to me that I was an incredibly well-off star, and that I had to do something against the screaming injustice on this planet," says the 31-year-old actress. "Not just by giving speeches, I had to be actively involved. Since then I've travelled half the world. I went to see the people there up close. I didn't shut myself off in some luxurious hotel."

In spite of being one of the world's most well known stars, and the threats that can accompany that title, Jolie wouldn't give up her work at orphanages and refugee camps. She has even adopted two orphaned children from impoverished nations, and is reportedly in the process of adopting a third child, this time from Vietnam.

Jolie credits playing the film role of Lara Croft with starting her humanitarian streak.

"But without the role of Lara Croft, I would never have set foot in Cambodia. It was only because we filmed there that I got to see the catastrophic poverty of large parts of the population with my own eyes.

"The experience changed me a lot. I, the beautiful, typical American girl, was shocked to see how different life is there. It was a big step in my development."

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