Angelina Jolie shares emotional tribute to late mother Marcheline Bertrand for Mother's Day: 'I can see how much her death changed me'

Details

Published on Monday, 11 May 2020 04:58

Written by Daily mail

            Angelina Jolie is paying tribute to her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who passed away in 2007 after being diagnosed with ovarian and breast cancer.The Academy Award-winning actress, 44, wrote a heartfelt Mother's Day op-ed for the New York Times, where she chronicled Bertrand's devotion and sacrifice for her children, the loss of her mother, and the inspiration she's gotten from refugee mothers around the world in their fight to love and protect their children. 'I lost my mother in my thirties. When I look back to that time, I can see how much her death changed me,' Jolie wrote in the piece that was published May 9.'It was not sudden, but so much shifted inside. Losing a mother's love and warm, soft embrace is like having someone rip away a protective blanket,' she added.After detailing Bertrand's upbringing on the South Side of Chicago and subsequent move to Los Angeles, Jolie talked about her love of rock n' roll and how the split from her father, Jon Voight, changed her life goals.'When my father had an affair, it changed my life. It set her dream of family life ablaze,' the actress explained.'But she still loved being a mother. Her dreams of being an actor faded as she found herself, at the age of 26, raising two children with a famous ex who would cast a long shadow on her life.' Several years after her mother's death, Jolie got a small "W" tattoo on her right hand, in remembrance of the Rolling Stone song, Winter, that Bertrand used to sing to her as a baby.'As the "W" faded on my hand, so did that feeling of home and protection,' she confessed.'Life has taken many turns. I've had my own loss and seen my life take a different direction. And it hurt more than I imagined it ever would,' which was likely a reference to her bitter split with ex-husband Brad Pitt, among other losses.Jolie, who's a special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, also reminisced about the strength she's gotten from her many journeys to conflict zones around the world.'This Mother’s Day, I think of refugee mothers I have met, living in poverty and displacement,' she said.'Every one began her journey of motherhood with a promise to do all she could to protect her child. To lay down her life if necessary. And if she is defeated and silenced, few things are more tragic.'Those brave refugee mothers' will to survive, at times for the sake of their children, has led her to believe 'a mother is the strongest person on earth.' She added, 'The softness of her skin is deceptive. She is a force driven by love and loyalty. There is no one who solves more problems. When she has only love to give, it pours from her soul.' She concluded by stating that there is 'nothing more painful for a mother or father than to be unable to provide their child with the things they need,' and how the COVID-19 pandemic has made that more of a reality for many families, including the US. 'So to the mothers everywhere who feel helpless — yet who still give every last bit of energy, every last bite of food and the only blanket to their children — I honor you.' she wrote. 'And to anyone who is grieving this Mother’s Day, I hope you will find consolation and strength in your memories.'

 source : Daily mail