Angelina Jolie says women are defined too much by other people’s perceptions

Angelina Jolie said she trained for almost seven months to perform opera for her role in Maria. Photograph: Fabio Frustaci/EPA

Angelina Jolie has said it is often “other people’s perception of a woman” that defines too much who she is, as she discussed portraying the famed opera singer Maria Callas in a new biopic.

Maria, by the Chilean film-maker Pablo Larraín, premieres at the Venice film festival on Thursday, but it has already generated Oscar buzz over Jolie’s depiction of the renowned “diva”.