Angelina Jolie. Capture from the inaugural issue of Time France
Actor Angelina Jolie has revealed the scars from her preventive mastectomy.
On the 16th (Korean time), the inaugural issue of Time France released a cover photoshoot with Angelina Jolie. In the shoot, Jolie covers with her hand the scar area left after she underwent a preventive mastectomy in 2013.
Jolie said she revealed the scars to raise awareness of the importance of early screening for breast cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. In a subsequent interview, she said, “I share this scar with many of the women I love,” and “I am always moved whenever I see other women share their scars.”
Because of a genetic predisposition due to family history, Jolie underwent preventive surgery on both breasts in 2013. In 2015, she had both ovaries removed. After she announced that she had undergone a preventive mastectomy, breast cancer screening in France increased by 20%.
Jolie argued for the importance of breast cancer screening, stating, “Access to screening and treatment should not be determined by financial circumstances or where one lives.” In response to the question, ‘Should all women be offered routine BRCA (BRest CAncea, braka) genetic testing to identify BRCA1/BRCA2 variants that increase the risk of ovarian cancer?’, she said, “Genetic testing and screening should be made accessible at affordable prices to women who have clear risk factors or a family history.”
Jolie will play an American film director diagnosed with breast cancer in ‘Coutures’(Coutures), a film by director Alice Winocour that opens in France on February 18, 2026. The film is said to draw on Jolie and her experiences related to cancer, drawing even more attention.
Regarding the film, she said, “Movies about women and their struggles, especially battles with cancer, often talk only about sorrow, but Alice portrayed sensitive subjects like breast cancer with delicacy.” Jolie also said, “Hardship, illness, and pain are part of human life, but what helps us face them and get through this period is life itself, and it was important to convey that to countless women,” and “It was important to show life beyond simply the journey of a person who is ill, and this perspective made me want to take on this role.”
