Angelina Jolie Gets Choked Up Honoring Late Mom Marcheline Bertrand

Angelina Jolie is sharing a glimpse into the powerful influence her late mom, Marcheline Bertrand, had on her life.

“I grew up with a mother who kept books inside the oven because there were more books in our house than shelves in the apartment we had,” Jolie, 49, shared at the 2024 Gotham Awards, which Us Weekly attended on Monday, December 2. “And it was how she solved the problem, while still making sure we were fed. But it was her priority.”

Bertrand died in 2007 after a battle with ovarian cancer. She was 56.

While getting choked up inside New York City’s Cipriani Wall Street, Jolie praised the power of the arts as she accepted the Performer Tribute Award for playing opera singer Maria Callas in the critically acclaimed movie Maria.

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“[My mom] took me to the theater. She told me about meeting Tennessee Williams, and she introduced me to the Lee Strasberg Institute, where I would later study,” Jolie shared. “And I now experience the joy of seeing my own daughter love theater and get involved.”

Jolie also appeared emotional as she referenced her youngest daughter. Jolie shares six children — Maddox, 23, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16 — with Brad Pitt, whom she split from in 2016. Vivienne helped Jolie produce The Outsiders musical, which went on to win Best Musical at the 2024 Tony Awards.

“For many of us, these early influences are what nurture us and shape us as artists and people, and it is so important,” Jolie shared. “Art is a way we come together to know each other, to laugh with each other and to understand each other. And it’s why it’s so important that art is taught in our schools — and so concerning that many of those programs are being reduced.”

During her speech, the Oscar winner expressed her belief that Callas would tell her students to “keep going.”

She also expressed gratitude for her mother and all the adults spreading the good news about arts and theater.

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“In Maria’s memory, thinking of my mom,” Jolie stated, “for all those who teach and inspire art in others, all the young artists growing up and everyone in this room who celebrates creativity and expression, I am really, really honored to be here with all of you and to be a part of this community.”

Maria is in theatres now.

With reporting by Antonio Ferme