Angelina Jolie doesn’t regret her decision to have her ovaries removed and a double mastectomy.
The “Maria” actress appeared on Hello! In a new interview with , she reflected on the preventive surgery she underwent after discovering she carried the rare BRCA gene. magazine.
The BRCA gene, also known as the breast cancer gene, can increase your risk of breast and ovarian cancer. According to Cancer.gov, people with this mutation tend to develop cancer at a younger age than people without such a mutation.
“I chose to have it (surgery) because I lost my mother and grandmother at a young age,” she explained.
“I have the BRCA gene, so I chose to have a double mastectomy 10 years ago. Then I also had my ovaries removed, because that was my mom’s surgery.”
Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died in 2007 at the age of 56 after battling breast and ovarian cancer.
Looking back, the 50-year-old “Tomb Raider” star is happy with his decision and has no disrespect for those who choose a different path.
“It’s my choice. I’m not saying everyone should do it, but it’s important to have a choice. And I don’t regret it,” she said.
In her new film, Couture, Jolie plays Maxine, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer who seduces a co-worker (Louis Garrel) despite the challenges of chemotherapy and hair removal.
“I think this movie has a lot to say. It’s a unifying piece, not just for women, but for anyone who’s been through something or feels vulnerable and alone,” Jolie said of the film’s message.
“There’s something very special about cancer in women, because it obviously affects us and how we feel as women.”
Jolie teased that when she first considered making the film, she had no idea the plot would go in this direction.
“When I read the script, I had an idea of where this movie was going to go, and I never thought it would end the way it did, and I never thought the man in the movie would react the way he did, and I never thought that desire would still be a part of the movie,” she said.
“And I think it’s really important to understand that and continue to live and desire and feel as a woman. And to remind those who love them that maybe that’s what you can do.”
The film also centers around the world of haute couture, but Jolie says there’s a deeper meaning behind it.
“I don’t think this is really a movie about fashion, it’s a movie about the fragility of life,” she said. “For me, fashion is a metaphor for the world of appearances, a world where you have to hide your flaws.”
Regarding how she honored her mother’s memory during filming, Jolie said she wore her mother’s necklace and ashes in the film.
“I thought about her a lot…I was kind of following in my mom’s footsteps and remembered all these moments for her, and I wish she had this community,” Jolie said. “I wish she could talk more openly and feel less alone, like I do.”
He added: “I think she would have told Maxine to take it day by day and focus on life. You can’t take any moment for granted.”
Jolie had a double mastectomy in 2013, and had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed two years later.
Her decision came after doctors told Jolie that the defective gene gave her an 87% chance of developing breast cancer and a 50% chance of developing ovarian cancer.
“These decisions are not easy to make,” the mother of six wrote in a 2015 New York Times op-ed.
“I know my kids won’t have to say, ‘Mommy died of ovarian cancer.'”
