Actor Brad Pitt and actress Angelina Jolie arrive for a special Maleficent Costume Display at Kensington Palace in London in this May 8, 2014 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

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They will star in an upcoming film "By the Sea," written and to be directed by Jolie, who will also co-produce the drama with Pitt.

Pitt has said they considered marriage because it meant a lot to their children.

As two of the most prominent and influential figures in the entertainment industry, Pitt and Jolie have taken on humanitarian causes as well as putting their muscle behind serious film.

Jolie, who won an Oscar for best-supporting actress in 2000 for "Girl, Interrupted," was appointed as a special envoy for refugee issues in 2011 after a decade as a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Pitt, who co-produced the Oscar-winning drama "12 Years a Slave," started a foundation to help restore New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Jolie, who was previously married to actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, has also become a voice for women's health issues. She underwent a double mastectomy last year in a preventative step prompted by her genetic disposition for breast cancer.

Pitt is divorced from actress Jennifer Aniston.

Gay marriage is legal in 19 of the 50 states and in Washington, DC. More than 30 courts have ruled in favor of gay marriage. The US Supreme Court is expected to take up the issue again in its coming term, which starts in October.