Oscar winner Angelina Jolie stays in top shape by being active. And the 34-year-old stunner encourages her six young children to be active as well.

“I love martial arts,” Angelina told OK! “They are ideal for children because they teach them discipline and perseverance. My son [Maddox, 7] is already starting to go to class.”

Jolie, who bounced back into peak condition following the birth of twins Knox and Vivienne in July 2008, underwent grueling martial arts training for her blockbuster action thrillers, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and its sequel, Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life (2003).

Since then, Angelina—widely considered one of the most beautiful women in the world—has embraced a fit and healthy lifestyle. Physical exercise is ideal, it’s much better than sitting in front of the TV or the computer screen, she says.

So when she does sit down to see a movie, what does Angie like to watch? “I like all of Bruce Lee’s films; he was the best,” she notes. “I also like Jackie Chan a lot—my kids are Jackie Chan fans.”

The super-svelte Angelina also likes to use her son’s video games to work out. Angelina discovered the program Let’s Pilates! when Maddox was showing his siblings how to use the Nintendo Wii console. Once Angie figured out how to use the program, she was hooked.

Meanwhile, Jolie has been on location in New York City and in Washington, D.C. since February, shooting scenes for the espionage thriller Salt, in which she plays Evelyn A. Salt, a rogue CIA agent who tries to clear her name after being accused of being a Russian sleeper spy.

When not filming, Jolie spends time with her partner Brad Pitt, 45, and their six kids and promotes humanitarian causes. On June 19, Angelina made international headlines when she and Brad donated $1 million to a U.N. refugee agency to help Pakistanis displaced by fighting between troops and Taliban militants. Over the past decade, Jolie has donated millions of dollars to charity and has traveled extensively on humanitarian missions as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.

Meanwhile, the Oscar winner has reportedly landed another film franchise, this time playing Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a crime-solving medical examiner in novelist Patricia Cornwell’s bestselling book series.

In the novels, Kay Scarpetta is a beautiful but tough-as-nails forensic examiner with a messy love life and a penchant for opera and Italian cooking. There are 16 Scarpetta novels, clearing the way for a possible mega-franchise like the Jason Bourne spy series which made a global box-office sensation of star Matt Damon, 38.

Angelina has herself enjoyed incredible box office success in action movies such as the Lara Croft films (2001 & 2003), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) and Wanted (2008). Combined, Jolie’s movies have grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide. If everything works out, Scarpetta will be Angelina’s second franchise, after the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider series.

Salt opens in 2010.

Source: Examiner