Always candid about her body and choices, Angelina Jolie revisits a defining chapter of her life in a new TIME France interview, where she speaks openly for the first time about revealing the scars from her double mastectomy—an act she frames not as personal exposure, but as collective strength and awareness.

Now 50, Jolie explains that showing her scars was far from impulsive. It was a deeply considered choice, rooted in her desire to stand alongside women who have faced similar journeys.

Her participation in the TIME France feature was shaped by the magazine’s focus on breast health, prevention, and education around cancer—an issue that has long defined her public advocacy.

Jolie underwent a preventive double mastectomy in 2013 after learning she carries the BRCA1 gene mutation, which dramatically increases the risk of breast cancer. Her decision was profoundly influenced by the loss of her mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, who died in 2007 at the age of 56 after a long battle with cancer.

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In her landmark New York Times op-ed, My Medical Choice, Jolie revealed that the surgery reduced her risk of developing breast cancer from 87 percent to less than 5 percent. She stressed that she made the decision for her children as well, so they would not grow up fearing the possibility of losing her.

In her latest interview, Jolie once again underscores the importance of information and equal access to preventive care. Every woman, she argues, should be able to chart her own health path, armed with knowledge. Genetic testing and preventive screenings, she insists, should never depend on financial means or geographic location.

For Jolie, sharing her experience publicly has never been about visibility or self-promotion. It is about empowering women to make informed, autonomous choices about their bodies and their health.

The interview also touches on her upcoming film Couture, directed by Alice Winocour and set for release in France in February 2026. In the film, Jolie portrays Maxine Walker, an American filmmaker who is diagnosed with breast cancer—a role that resonates closely with her own lived experience.