Angelina Jolie made dame in Queen's birthday honours list

US actor receives honorary title for anti-rape campaign as gender-balanced awards span 19- to 99-year-olds



Hollywood actor and UN special envoy Angelina Jolie is today accorded one of the highest accolades granted by the British establishment as she is made an honorary dame in the Queen's birthday honours.

The 39-year-old Oscar winner, who has spent much of this week co-chairing a London summit on war rape with foreign secretary William Hague, becomes a dame commander of the order of St Michael and St George courtesy of the foreign office in recognition of her work on conflict sexual crime.

Jolie, in London with actor husband Brad Pitt, is co-founder with Hague of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) and was nominated in the diplomatic service and overseas birthday 2014 honours for services to UK foreign policy and the campaign to end war zone sexual violence.

Hague has made no secret of his admiration for her, having described the film star as "a pleasure to work with" and saying "my admiration for her work has grown even greater over the last two years".

Jolie, who is UN special envoy for refugees, said of the award: "To receive an honour related to foreign policy means a great deal to me as it is what I wish to dedicate my working life to. Working on PSVI and with survivors of rape is an honour in itself. I know that succeeding in our goals will take a lifetime and I am dedicated to it for all of mine."

Formerly Dame Maggie Smith, 79, famous for her acting roles as both Downton Abbey's Countess of Grantham and Harry Potter's Professor McGonagal, upgrades to a companion of honour for services to drama.

Daniel Day Lewis, 55, the Oscar-winning Lincoln actor, said he was "entirely amazed and utterly delighted in equal measure" to be adding a knighthood to his three best actor statuettes.

Meanwhile Homeland and Band of Brothers star Damian Lewis, 43, receives an OBE. "I decided to do the very un-British thing of accepting the compliment," said Lewis, who did not expect Hollywood to be impressed. "I don't think our republican cousins quite understand our honours system or are that bothered about it".