Angelina Jolie Embraces Her ‘Scars’ and the Strength Behind Them

Angelina Jolie is speaking candidly about the personal journey that changed her life — and why she now sees her physical scars as symbols of strength.

In a new interview with French media outlet French Inter, the Oscar-winning actress reflected on her 2013 double mastectomy and the impact it had on her life. Rather than viewing the surgery as something to hide, Jolie says she embraces it.

“I've always been someone more interested in the scars and the life that people carry,” Jolie shared. “I'm not drawn to some perfect idea of a life that has no scars.”

At 50, Jolie says the decision to undergo the preventive surgery was one she made for her children. After learning she carried the BRCA1 gene mutation — which significantly increased her risk of breast cancer — she chose to have both breasts removed.

“I see my scars as a choice I made to do what I could do to stay here as long as I could with my children,” she explained. “I love my scars because of that.”

Jolie lost her mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, to cancer in 2007. Bertrand was just 56 years old. That loss deeply influenced Jolie’s decision to take action about her own health.

“I lost my mom when I was young, and I'm raising my children without a grandmother,” Jolie said. “I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to have the choice to do something proactive.”

Back in 2013, Jolie publicly shared her decision in a powerful op-ed titled “My Medical Choice” published in The New York Times. In it, she revealed that doctors estimated her lifetime risk of breast cancer at 87 percent due to the faulty BRCA1 gene. After surgery, that risk dropped to under 5 percent.

“I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy,” she wrote at the time. “But it is one I am very happy that I made.”

Two years later, in 2015, Jolie underwent another preventive procedure — the removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes — to reduce her risk of ovarian cancer.

Now, Jolie’s personal experience is reflected in her work. In her upcoming film Couture, she plays a filmmaker going through a divorce who is diagnosed with breast cancer. Set during Paris Fashion Week, the film features Jolie speaking both English and French.

Couture premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival in September and has already sparked conversation for its emotional depth.

For Jolie, scars are no longer reminders of fear — they are reminders of life, survival, and choice.

“If you get to the end of your life and you haven’t made mistakes, you don’t have scars — you haven’t lived a full enough life,” she said.

Through her honesty, Jolie continues to use her voice to empower others — proving that strength often comes from the very marks we carry.