Angelina Jolie continues to champion women's health by sharing a deeply personal milestone. For the first time, the Oscar-winning actress has showcased her post-mastectomy scars in a powerful cover story for the inaugural issue of Time Magazine France.
Reflecting on her decision to bare these marks, Angelina Jolie highlighted the solidarity she feels with survivors worldwide. "I share these scars with many women I love," she stated. "And I'm always moved when I see other women share theirs."
Credit: Nathaniel Goldberg/ H&K for Time France
Jolie’s journey began in 2013 after she discovered she carried the BRCA1 "faulty gene," which gave her an 87% risk of developing breast cancer. Following the loss of her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, to the disease in 2007, Jolie opted for a preventive double mastectomy. At the time, she wrote in her famous 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."
The surgery was a life-changing choice for her family. "My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent," she explained. "I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer."
Beyond her personal story, Angelina Jolie is now advocating for global healthcare reform. She emphasizes that life-saving information shouldn't be a luxury. "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," she told the magazine.
