Angelina Jolie has explained the meaning of her scars, describing them as symbols of strength and choice.
In a recent interview with France InterThe Oscar-winning actress and director said she has learned to accept the marks left by her preventative double mastectomy in 2013.
“I’ve always been someone more interested in the scars and the lives that people carry,” Jolie explained.
“My scars are a choice I made to do what I could to stay here as long as possible with my children. I love my scars because of it and I am grateful for the opportunity to have the choice to do something proactive about my health.”
Her decision was shaped by her family history.
Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died at age 56 from ovarian and breast cancer.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith The star later discovered she carried the BRCA1 gene mutation, which significantly increased her risk of developing breast cancer.
Write in it 2013 New York Times column My medical choiceshe revealed that the operation had reduced her risk from 87 percent to less than 5 percent.
“I lost my mother when I was young,” she said. “And I’m raising my kids without a grandmother. So I think that’s life. And if you get to the end of your life and you haven’t made any mistakes, you haven’t done any damage, you don’t have scars, you haven’t lived a full enough life.”
For those who don’t know, Jolie shares six children with ex-husband Brad Pitt: Maddox (24), Pax (22), Zahara (21), Shiloh (19), and 17-year-old fraternal twins Knox and Vivienne.
