Angelina Jolie recently reflected on a deeply personal moment from her past at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The Maria star, 49, accepted the Maltin Modern Master Award from Ava DuVernay and spoke about her decades-long acting career in a conversation with film critic Leonard Maltin.
During the discussion, Jolie recalled the 1979 Academy Awards, a night that held significant meaning for her family. Her father, Jon Voight, won Best Actor for Coming Home, but her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, watched from home with young Angelina and her brother, James Haven.
“My mom was home with two little kids,” Jolie shared. “Her dream was to be an actress, just like her mother. She used to take me to the theater in Chicago all the time.”
Bertrand, who passed away in 2007 at 56, had once confided in Jolie about how difficult that night had been. “She was very young, recently divorced from a famous man, and watching him win an Oscar with the other woman,” Jolie revealed. Voight’s date that evening was actress Stacey Pickren.
Jolie described the moment as a pivotal part of their family history. “I always remembered how she was there for me and my brother. That was the choice she made.”
Years later, when Jolie won Best Supporting Actress for Girl, Interrupted at the 2000 Oscars, she dedicated the moment to her mother. “To step off that stage, call her, and say, ‘It’s yours’—and then give her the Oscar—that was one of the best moments of my life.”
Jolie became emotional as she spoke about Bertrand’s enduring support. “She had to give up her creative dreams but fully embraced mine. She even wrote letters to my characters—‘Dear Gia,’ ‘Dear Lisa Rowe,’ ‘Dear Lara Croft.’ I often wonder what she would write to me now.”
Jolie’s latest film, Maria, where she portrays opera legend Maria Callas, is now streaming on Netflix.
Comments are closed.