J Tanner/UNHCR via Getty ImagesAngelina Jolie's deeply personal revelation in a New York Times op-ed that she underwent a double mastectomy in February to minimize her future risk of breast cancer made headlines around the world and the blogosphere lit up with overwhelmingly positive reactions.
But while it isn't every day that an A-lister discloses such a private matter to the world in such candid, public fashion, Jolie is certainly not the first celebrity to have taken to use a news outlet's opinion section to get a message across.
Be it personal, pithy or political, here are five more stars who've penned headline-making op-eds:
1. Jodie Foster Defends Kristen Stewart: Months before inspiring a number of op-eds with her 2013 Golden Globes speech, Foster took to the Daily Beast to shake her fist at the media for making such a big deal about Stewart stepping out on Robert Pattinson last summer. "If I had to grow up in this media culture, I don't think I could survive it emotionally," the former child star wrote, noting that Stewart turned 11 while they were shooting Panic Room. Foster encouraged her former costar to perservere and rise above, "the ultimate F.U." to the haters.
2. Jamie Lee Curtis Not Amused by Seth MacFarlane: "I was offended last week. As an Academy member, as the child of former Academy members and as a woman, I expected more from the best that the movie business has to offer," the actress slammed this year's Oscars ceremony by way of the Huffington Post. She was just one of many to pile on the Family Guy creator for his hit-and-miss hosting job and "We Saw Your Boobs" ditty, but you kind of had to figure that the wife of Christopher Guest knows funny when she sees it.
3. Connie Britton Scolds Mitt Romney: The current Nashville star cowrote an op-ed for USA Today with Friday Night Lights executive producer Sarah Aubrey that took the then-GOP presidential candidate to task for coopting FNL's winning "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" motto for his campaign. "In fact, it is President Obama who has shown his values to be more closely aligned with those represented by the phrase," they wrote, offering up the gist of their essay in a nutshell.
4. Eva Longoria Stands Up for Devious Maids: The former Desperate Housewives star took to Huffington Post just last week to defend the upcoming Lifetime dramedy, of which she's an executive producer, against critics who insist the show centering on five Latina housekeepers is propagating a stereotype. "The only way to break a stereotype is to not ignore it," she wrote. "The stereotype we are grappling with here is that as Latinas, all we are is maids. And yet, this is a show that deconstructs the stereotype by showing us that maids are so much more."
5. Bono Takes on the World: The U2 frontman and humanitarian was invited by the New York Times to be a guest columnist—and he duly accepted, penning op-eds in 2009 and 2010 on subjects ranging from Frank Sinatra to rebuilding Africa. On Jan. 2, 2010, he offered up 10 ideas that he hoped could take shape in the next 10 years, including the "return of the automobile as a sexual object" and "taking the fight to rotavirius" via readily available vaccinations.