Angelina Jolie Shares Her Mastectomy Scars Over 10 Years After Surgery
For Angelina Jolie, scars are an eternal reminder of her journey through life.
That’s why the Oscar winner doesn’t mind having a few marks on her body from her double mastectomy, which she underwent in 2013 after doctors discovered she possesses a gene that increases the risk of breast cancer.
“I’ve always been someone more interested in the scars and the life that people carry,” she said in a recent interview with French radio station France Inter. “I’m not drawn to some perfect idea of a life that has no scars.”
In fact, the 50-year-old—who shares kids Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 19, as well as twins Knox and Vivienne, 17, with ex Brad Pitt—said the double mastectomy scars will always serve as reminders of the “choice I made to do what I could do to stay here as long as I could with my children.”
“I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to have the choice to do something proactive about my health,” Angelina continued, noting how her mother Marcheline Bertrand had died from breast cancer in 2007 at age 56. “I lost my mom very when I was young. I’m raising my children without a grandmother.”
The Eternals alum added, “[If] you get to the end of your life and you haven’t made mistakes, you haven’t made a mess, you don’t have scars, you haven’t lived a full enough life.”
Angelina first bared her double mastectomy scars in December, telling Time France after her photo shoot, “I share these scars with many women I love.”
“I’m always moved when I see other women share theirs,” she continued. “I wanted to join them.”
Pierre Suu/WireImage
The Salt actress also touched on why she went public with her double mastectomy, explaining that the 2013 New York Times op-ed piece she penned about her preventative procedure was to “encourage informed choices.”
“Every woman should always be able to determine her own healthcare journey and have the information she needs to make informed choices,” Angelina added. “Healthcare decisions must be personal, and women must have the information and support they need to make those choices.”
For a look at Angelina through the years, read on.
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
1986
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
1988
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1991
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1994
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1995
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
1997
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
1998
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
1999
Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images
2000
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2001
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2002
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2003
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2004
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2005
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2006
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2007
Toni Anne Barson/WireImage
2008
Jeff Vespa/WireImage
2009
Jamie McCarthy/FilmMagic
2010
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
2011
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
2012
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
2013
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
2014
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
2015
Shannon Finney/WireImage
2016
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
2017
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2018
Marco Provvisionato/IPA/Shutterstock
2019
Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock
2021
JIM LO SCALZO/Shutterstock
2022
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