Angelina Jolie Breaks Down in Tears at TIFF While Remembering Her Late Mother

Angelina Jolie became emotional during an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival while reflecting on her late mother.

During a Q&A session after the premiere of Jolie’s new film Couture on Sunday, September 7, as reported by Entertainment Weekly, the 50-year-old actress provided a heartfelt answer when asked for advice for those who have recently lost someone to cancer. (Jolie portrays a character battling cancer in Couture and lost her own mother, Marcheline Bertrand, to the same illness in 2007.)

Jolie hesitated, covering her mouth as she gathered her thoughts before responding. “I’m very sorry for your loss,” she said while reaching for her eyes. “One thing I recall my mother saying during her cancer journey … at a dinner, people were inquiring about her … how she was coping. She remarked, ‘All people ever ask me about is cancer.’”

As she continued to dab at her eyes, she added, “I would suggest, if you know someone facing such a challenge, to ask them about everything else in their lives as well. They are whole individuals. And they are still living.”

The audience’s appreciation for Jolie’s openness was noted, and the discussion soon shifted to other film topics.

Jolie’s reflections on her mother’s passing at the age of 56 followed her earlier comments at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival while accepting the Maltin Modern Master Award in February.

In that speech, she shared, “I think of my mother … she sacrificed her dreams of a creative life but fully supported mine.”

During her address, Jolie also mentioned that her mother, who passed away after a prolonged battle with breast and ovarian cancer, used to write letters to the characters portrayed by Jolie. “Dear Gia,’ ‘Dear Lisa Rowe,’ ‘Dear Lara Croft’ — for the past 16 years, those letters have been absent from my life,” Jolie revealed. (She starred as the title character in 1998’s TV film Gia, followed by portraying Lisa Rowe in Girl, Interrupted and video game icon Lara Croft in 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.)

In Couture, Jolie takes on the role of a filmmaker named Maxine, who attends Fashion Week in Paris to oversee a TV show, only to discover her cancer diagnosis.

The release date for Couture in the United States has yet to be announced.