Sunday, March 29, 2015

Angelina Jolie's poignant breast cancer screenplay 14 years before her own surgery

The actress, who had her breasts removed in 2013, wrote the story eight years before cancer killed her mother Marcheline Bertrand



Angelina Jolie and Mother, Marcheline Bertrand
Mother and daughter: Angelina Jolie and Marcheline Bertrand

Angelina Jolie uncannily ­foretold her future when she wrote a story in which a girl chose a double mastectomy ­because her mum was dying of breast cancer, writes Katie Hind in the Sunday People.
The actress was unaware that ovarian cancer would eight years later kill her mother Marcheline Bertrand , or that within 14 years she would opt for drastic ­operations to avoid suffering a similar fate.
Angelina, then 24, penned the ­screenplay back in 1999, shortly before she won anOscar for her role in Girl, Interrupted.
Her fictional tale, called Skins, featured a young woman who opted for drastic surgery after her mother learned she had terminal breast cancer.


Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrive at the 15th Annual AFI Awards
Future foretold: Angelina Jolie at an awards ceremony with husband Brad Pitt

The brave star had her breasts ­removed in 2013 because she knew her family history made her prone to ­cancer, having lost her mother, grandmother and an aunt to the disease.
And last week she revealed she also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes taken out recently as an added precaution.
A source said of Angelina’s script for Skins: “It was a harrowing read, it was really, really sad.
“It is so similar to Angelina’s own story, although when she wrote it she would have had absolutely no idea.
“It was even before she knew her mother Marcheline was ill and several years before she died.


Angelina Jolie arrives on the red carpet for the 86th Academy Awards
Radiant: Jolie at the Academy Awards

“It’s like she based the character on herself... only she couldn’t possibly have done.”
Marcheline died in 2007, aged 56. Angelina, now 39, is currently c­arving a career as a movie director.
But she began writing screenplays while in her 20s and was becoming one of the most sought-after ­actresses in Hollywood.
She said she took the huge ­decision to undergo the latest surgery after doctors warned she carries a gene that gives her a 50% chance of ovarian cancer.
Details of the script were first described in a biography of the mum-of-six by Dianaauthor Andrew Morton – published before she had her surgery.


Angelina Jolie
Brave: Jolie has also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed

In an article for the New York Times magazine, Angelina wrote: “I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt.
“I told myself to be strong, that I had no reason to think I wouldn’t live to see my children grow up and meet my grandchildren.
“I called my ­husband in France and he was on a plane ­within hours. The beautiful thing about such moments is that there is so much clarity.


Actor Brad Pitt attends the 15th Annual AFI Awards Luncheon at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 9, 2015 in Beverly Hills, CaliforniaClarity: Jolie called husband Brad Pitt, who was on a plane, after a scare

“You know what you live for and what ­matters. It is ­polarising, and it is peaceful.
“It is not possible to remove all risk, and the fact is that I remain prone to cancer.
“I will look for natural ways to strengthen my immune system. I feel feminine and grounded in the choices I am making.
“I know my children will never have to say, ‘Mom died of ovarian cancer’.”

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