Angelina Jolie’s beloved mother Marcheline Bertrand passed away in 2007 after a years-long cancer battle. Angelina was devastated, and she began researching BRAC genes. She discovered that, like Marcheline, she carried a mutation in her BRAC1 gene, which gives her a higher likelihood of developing breast and ovarian cancers. In 2013, Angelina had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. Two years later, Jolie had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as well, all preventative. In Angelina’s latest film, Couture, her character is diagnosed with cancer. To promote the film and to educate women on their health options, Jolie agreed to have her mastectomy scars photographed for Time France.
Angelina Jolie has decided to publicly show her mastectomy scars for the first time. The Maria star, 50, candidly revealed why she’s chosen to show the results of her preventive double mastectomy from over a decade ago in a new interview with TIME France.
‘I share these scars with many women I love,’ she stated. ‘And I’m always moved when I see other women share theirs. I wanted to join them, knowing that TIME France would be sharing information about breast health, prevention, and knowledge about breast cancer.’
For the cover photo, the Oscar winner posed in a low-cut black sweater, subtly covering one breast with her hand. Photos of Jolie’s double mastectomy scars will accompany the full interview, which will be published in the new issue of TIME France on December 18.
She’s incredibly brave. I don’t think I realized how much time has passed either – Angelina’s preventative double mastectomy happened over 13 years ago! And it likely saved her life and ensured that she would still be alive to raise her children. I also assume that Jolie decided to do the French version of Time because Couture is a French film technically, with a French director, set in France (during Paris Fashion Week). Plus, it sounds like this issue is dedicated to women’s health issues.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, cover courtesy of Time France.
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- Celebrities attend the ‘Maria’ premiere during the 81st Venice International Film Festival Featuring: Angelina Jolie Where: Venice, Italy When: 29 Aug 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards arrivals at The Beverly Hilton Featuring: Angelina Jolie Where: Beverly Hills, California, United States When: 05 Jan 2025 Credit: MediaPunch/INSTARimages
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- Celebrities attend the ‘Eddington’ red carpet premiere during the 78th Cannes Film Festival Featuring: Angelina Jolie Where: Cannes, France When: 16 May 2025 Credit: IPA/INSTARimages **UK, USA AND AUSTRALIA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- 50th Toronto International Film Festival world premiere of ‘Couture’ at The Princess Of Wales Theatre Featuring: Angelina Jolie Where: Toronto, Ontario, Canada When: 07 Sep 2025 Credit: mpi099/MediaPunch/INSTARimages
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- Premiere of the film ‘Couture’ at the 73rd San Sebastian International Film Festival at the Kursaal Featuring: Angelina Jolie Where: San Sebastian, Spain When: 21 Sep 2025 Credit: Clemens Niehaus/Future Image/Cover Images **NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN GERMANY**
Thank you, Angie. We love you!
Good for her. My friend had her uterus removed to prevent cancer and is going to have the tubes removed eventually.
This is, actually, first ever issue of Time magazine France.
Wishing Angelina all the best!
What a gutsy move. Good on her!
I remember when my mom had to have a mastectomy back in the late 70s. She was so ashamed of the scar; as young as I was, I will never forget her crying that she was “mutilated”. Good on Angelina and all women who are out there letting other women know we have nothing to be ashamed about, talking about what it’s really like, and taking it out of the shadows.
I used Angelina’s doctor when I needed reconstructive surgery for a botched reduction. When I was looking for a doctor to do it, I immediately thought to research who’d helped her. I can say wholeheartedly this doctor is the nicest, most compassionate man (and his PA and office staff are amazing). She was in excellent hands.
My mom’s mastectomies were in the 80s (six weeks apart); one was stitched well & the other was terrible, all lumpy & gathered. My mom was so upset about the crappy seamsmanship! (If that’s a word.). She was a lifelong seamstress since making her own doll’s clothes as a kid & made all our clothes AND our dolls’ clothes so she knew what she was speaking about. I love that you looked up Angelina’s doctor & went to him!
It’s a gorgeous cover
In coincidental timing my friend sent a message to our chat yesterday with a pic she took that’s part of a ‘boobles’ social media campaign that shows her single mastectomy scar and a strategically place cardboard bauble on the other side. It’s for a charity for those with genetic mutations for breast cancer and this is an awareness campaign.
Go Angie.
I admire Angie. But I’d also like to mention Matuschka, who posed with her scar on the front cover of the 1993 New York Times Magazine.
https://archive.ph/feMjq
http://www.beautyoutofdamage.com/
Brave women.
Thanks for sharing this. I was unaware. How impressive.
Tig Notaro did this as well, but on film in a comedy special (“Boyish Girl Interrupted”) and also in her semi-autobiographical show “One Mississippi” on Prime. Really poignant and courageous stuff. We are not our boobs, nor less of a woman without them.
Love that she is helping to de-stigmatize these scars. I am a breast cancer survivor and so many, myself included, have felt isolated and even shame in relation to these scars. I had a lumpectomy, and I covered my scar with a tattoo because I felt post-surgery it was ugly and didn’t want to see it that way so I reclaimed my narrative around it, and I celebrate and appreciate that she is doing what she can to help bring about more acceptance.
Wow that’s a great idea! I had the same, and it’s the lymph node scar (that really bugs me). I might do the tattoo idea!
Im not trying to be rude I swear but I feel like im missing something obvious… I dont see any scars?
It seems that the pictures of the scars will be inside the magazine when it becomes available on Dec 18th. I had to go back and read it again because I had the same thought about not seeing anything either.
Yeah, the whole interview and photoshot isn’t available until the 18th.
Angelina is an incredibly brave individual. Always out to make a positive impact.
All that aside though, can we please acknowledge how much better her hair looks here now that she’s let the dark come back in a bit more. The blonde was horrible.
Ha! The thing about Angie is she looks beautiful no matter what, in my opinion. I’d vote for her for most beautiful woman in the world.
What a wonderful thing Time and Angelina did here.
I wonder how long we hear from you know who…probably going to have to announce engagement to take the focus off Angelina. Her being so brave should set him off
We know like clockwork deadbeat and PR will go running to his abuser apologist enabler outlet People Magazine announcing how in love he is and how stress free his younger girlfriend is. Especially as its their joint birthday exclusive that people magazine been covering for last 3 years
Thank you Angelina Jolie for keep on raising awareness to breast cancer, and thank you for being brave and showing your mastectomy scars, much respect to you .
In the TIME FRANCE magazine it said
Angelina Jolie greed the whole team, hugged Alice Winocour the director of Coutures, and when she talked about her mother and grandmother, who died of breast cancer, she’d tears and the TIME team hugged her..
that was a powerful introduction.
from saying angie is so beautiful and hypnotic it’s hard to look at her in the eyes, to her work with the un, to mentioning her children, the schools she funded around the world, her foundation, atelier jolie, the initiatives for women in need she built, her latest successful production in france “Muganga The One Who Treats”, her parents, her childhood, to her visit to ukraine,…, she really didn’t miss.
“jolie rebel of hollywood, remained punk at heart, guided by three words: liberty, justice, compassion.”
12 years after her preventative double mastectomy in 2013, #AngelinaJolie shares for 1st time why shes comfortable sharing her scars from the operation.
“I share these scars with many women I love. And I’m always moved when I see other women share theirs”
God I was crying after reading the interview, Angelina Jolie still mourns the death of her mother & grandmother’s who lost their lives due to various Cancers. What a burden to carry, may God keep her and her family healthy, especially as her biological children could carry the same BRACA Gene like she does, I hope they don’t inherit that. Angelina Jolie you keep being an inspiration
“I share these scars with many women I love. And i’m always moved when I see other women share theirs. I wanted to join them, knowing that TIME France would be sharing information about breast health, prevention, and knowledge about breast cancer.”
THIS made me cry, thank you Angelina jolie once again you’re opening up conversations with other women. Keep fighting the good fight.