Angelina Jolie Opens Up About Embracing Her Double Mastectomy Scars — and the Choice That Shaped Her Life
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Angelina Jolie has never been one to shy away from difficult conversations. Now, in a candid new interview, the 50-year-old actress and filmmaker is speaking publicly once again about the double mastectomy she underwent in 2013 — and why, more than a decade later, she views the scars it left behind not with regret, but with love.
‘I’m Not Drawn to Some Perfect Idea’
In a new interview with the French media outlet French Inter, Jolie reflected on what her scars mean to her, framing them as markers of a life fully lived rather than blemishes to hide.
“Well, I’ve always been someone more interested in the scars and the life that people carry,” the actress began. “I’m not drawn to some perfect idea of a life that has no scars. So no, I think, hey, you know, I see my scars are a choice I made to do what I could do to stay here as long as I could with my children.”
It was a deeply personal statement — one that connected a major medical decision directly to her role as a mother and to the family loss that prompted her to act.
“I love my scars because of that, you know, and I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to have the choice to do something proactive about my health. I lost my mom when I was young, and I’m raising my children without a grandmother,” the Oscar winner continued.
Jolie also spoke more broadly about what it means to carry the marks of a full life. “So for me, no, I think this is life. And if you get to the end of your life and you haven’t made [a big, you know], you haven’t made mistakes, you haven’t made a mess, you don’t have scars, you haven’t lived a full enough life, I think,” she concluded.
A Decision Rooted in Loss
Jolie’s decision to undergo a preventive double mastectomy was not made lightly. It was driven by a painful family history. Her mother was Marcheline Bertrand, who died in 2007 at the age of 56 after battling both breast and ovarian cancer. Bertrand’s death subsequently inspired Jolie to undergo her preventive surgeries.
She has spoken about her double mastectomy several times since she received it in 2013, and in each instance, she has tied the decision back to the loss of her mother and grandmother.
“I did choose to have that [surgery] because I lost my mother and my grandmother very young,” Jolie told Hello! in an October 2025 profile, referring to her relatives’ respective cancer battles. “I have the BRCA gene, so I chose to have a double mastectomy a decade ago.”
“I’ve also had my ovaries removed, because that’s what took my mother. Those are my choices,” Jolie told Hello! “I don’t say everybody should do it that way, but it’s important to have the choice. I don’t regret it.”
Her words carry a careful balance — she is open about her own path while making clear that she does not prescribe it as the only option for others. Instead, she emphasizes the importance of having a choice.
Understanding the BRCA Gene
For those unfamiliar with the medical details behind Jolie’s decision, the genetic factor she referenced plays a significant role. The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes help produce proteins to help repair an individual’s DNA, according to the NIH’s National Cancer Institute. Mutations of the genes are often linked to an increased risk of breast, ovarian and other types of cancer.
Knowing that she carried this genetic mutation, Jolie chose to take action before cancer could take hold — a decision she first made public in a groundbreaking 2013 essay.
The Essay That Started a Global Conversation
In 2013, Jolie wrote a deeply personal essay for The New York Times in which she shared her medical decision with the world. Her words at the time were clear and resolute.
“Once I knew that this was my reality. I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much [as] I could,” Jolie wrote. “I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work, but I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience.”
Even then, her focus was squarely on her children and on the broader community of women who might face similar choices. She wrote about the relief the procedure brought to her family life, describing it in terms that were both grounding and tender.
“I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer. It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable. They can see my small scars and that’s it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was,” she continued.
More Than a Decade Later, No Regrets
Now, more than a decade removed from her mastectomy and the essay that brought her decision into the public eye, Jolie’s perspective has remained remarkably consistent. She does not hide her scars. She does not regret her surgeries. And she continues to speak about them with a frankness that invites others to consider their own health choices without shame or fear.
Her latest comments to French Inter echo what she told Hello! and what she wrote for The New York Times years ago — that her scars represent survival, motherhood and a deliberate choice to be present for her children. Losing her mother to cancer at a young age meant her own children would grow up without a grandmother. That reality, Jolie has made clear, weighed heavily in her decision-making.
“I lost my mom when I was young, and I’m raising my children without a grandmother,” she told French Inter.
It is a simple statement, but one that captures the deeply personal stakes behind what might otherwise seem like a purely medical decision.
Throughout her public discussions on this topic, Jolie has been careful to frame her experience as her own — not a directive for others. She has emphasized repeatedly that what mattered most was having the ability to make an informed, proactive choice about her health.
“I don’t say everybody should do it that way, but it’s important to have the choice. I don’t regret it,” she told Hello!
For readers who may be navigating their own health decisions or facing a family history of cancer, Jolie’s openness offers something valuable: the message that scars — whether physical or emotional — are not something to fear. They are, in her view, evidence of a life lived with courage and intention.
