Angelina Jolie has nothing to hide. The star, whose personal life has often made headlines, is now opening up about a deeply personal chapter. More than a decade after undergoing a preventive double mastectomy, the Oscar-winning actress is now publicly sharing the results of the surgery and the meaning behind that choice.
Jolie Shares Her Scars on the TIME France Cover
Jolie, 50, appears in the first issue of TIME France, available December 18, where she shares photos of her scars and speaks honestly about why now feels like the right time to tell her story.
“I share these scars with many women I love,” Jolie told the magazine. “And I’m always moved when I see other women share theirs.”
For Jolie, the moment is about connection and community. “I wanted to join them, knowing that TIME France would be sharing information about breast health, prevention, and knowledge about breast cancer.”
Jolie’s Preventive Health Journey
To jog your memory a little, Jolie decided to undergo a double mastectomy in 2013 after her mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, died from cancer at age 56 in 2007.
In a May 2013 New York Times op-ed titled “My Medical Choice,” Jolie revealed that tests indicated she carried the BRCA1 gene. This genetic mutation significantly raised her risk of developing breast cancer.
Jolie wrote in the op-ed: “I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.”
CBS reported that two years later, in 2015, Jolie underwent further preventative surgery. She had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to guard against ovarian cancer.
Advocating for Accessible Genetic Screening
GettyIn the TIME France interview, Jolie emphasized the importance of making genetic testing widely available to women who need it.
“Every woman should always be able to determine her own healthcare journey and have the information she needs to make informed choices: genetic testing and screening should be accessible and affordable for women with clear risk factors or a significant family history,” Jolie said.
She added that access to care must be equitable. “Access to screening and care should not depend on financial resources or where someone lives.”
Sure wish I had someone like her around here, my mom had a double mastectomy and then she died from ovarian cancer the doctors told my sister and I that we would definitely have the ovarian cancer but my insurance won’t cover genetic testing and I can’t afford to pay for it now I get to worry if I’ll be here for my kids while I try to raise money to get the genetic testing for my daughter.
Tomorrow would have been her 64th birthday