Angelina Jolie.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for The Gotham Film & Media InstituteAngelina Jolie shares insight into the powerful influence of her late mother, Marcheline Bertrandhad on her life.
“I grew up with a mom who kept books in the oven because there were more books in our house than there were shelves in the apartment we had,” Jolie, 49, said at the 2024 Gotham Awards, which Us Weekly were present on Monday, December 2. “So she solved the problem while making sure we were fed. But that was her priority.
Bertrand died in 2007. after a battle with ovarian cancer. She was 56.
While sulking at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, Jolie praised the power of the arts as she accepted the Performer Tribute Award for her role as an opera singer Maria Callas in the critically acclaimed film Maria.
Angelina Jolie made headlines in 2024 by bringing her kids and Brad Pitt to several red carpet events. In November, Jolie and Pitt’s 16-year-old son, Knox, accompanied her on the red carpet at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 15th Annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles. The two posed for photos at the ceremony (…)
“(My mother) took me to the theater. She told me about the meeting Tennessee Williamsand she introduced me to the Lee Strasberg Institute, where I would later study,” Jolie shared. “Now I experience the joy of seeing my own daughter love theater and participate.”
Jolie also seemed emotional when she mentioned her youngest daughter. Jolie shares six children — Maddox, 23, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16. — with Brad Pittwith whom she broke up in 2016. Vivienne helped Jolie produce The Outsiders musical that won Best Musical at the 2024 Tony Awards.
Angelina Jolie.
Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images“For many of us, those early influences are what nurture and shape us as artists and people, and that’s so important,” Jolie shares. “Art is the way we come together to get to know each other, laugh with each other and understand each other. And that’s why it’s so important that the arts are taught in our schools — and so troubling that many of these programs are being cut.”
During the her speechthe Oscar winner expressed her belief that Callas would tell her students to “keep going.”
She also expressed gratitude to her mother and all the adults who spread the good news about art and theater.
Mother of six! Angelina Jolie has more than a handful of children in her brood, so it’s no surprise that the actress loves to gush about parenthood. The Oscar winner shares Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne with ex-husband Brad Pitt. The former couple split two years after getting married in (…)
“In memory of Maria, thinking of my mother,” Jolie said, “of all those who teach and inspire art in others, all the young artists who are growing up, and everyone in this room who celebrates creativity and expression, for me it’s really , truly honored to be here with all of you and to be a part of this community.”
Maria it’s in theaters now.
With a report by Antonio Ferme
