Angelina Jolie portrays filmmaker diagnosed with breast cancer
Angelina Jolie is seen portraying an American filmmaker diagnosed with breast cancer in a trailer for her heartbreaking new French-speaking film Couture. The actress, 50, plays Maxine Walker, who arrives in Paris to make a video for a fashion event - but despite being uninterested in the industry she needs the money as she is going through a divorce, has a teenage daughter, and is preparing to make her next film. Shortly after her arrival, Maxine receives a heartwrenching breast cancer diagnosis and throughout the film her relationship with her body and identity plays out. Angelina recently revealed she was drawn to play the role as Maxine's battle to make her breast cancer diagnosis not become her entire personality reminded her of her own mother's feelings during her illness. Marcheline Bertrand, Angelina's mother, died in 2007 at the age of 56 after an eight-year battle with ovarian and breast cancer. Snapshots from the official trailer for the film show Angelina in floods of tears during her portrayal of Maxine. Angelina Jolieis seen portraying an American filmmaker diagnosed with breast cancer in a trailer for her heartbreaking new French-speaking film Couture The actress, 50, plays Maxine Walker, who arrives in Paris to make a video for a fashion event - but despite being uninterested in the industry she needs the moneyThe trailer also hint at Maxine becoming romantically involved with her cinematographer, played by French actor Louise Garrel. The film, directed by Alice Winocour, also tells the story of two other women Maxine meets at her job: Angèle, a longtime makeup artist writing a fiction novel about her experiences in the industry, and Ada, an 18-year-old pharmacy student from Nairobi, Kenya, who has recently discovered as a model. The Hollywood favourite stars alongside Louis Garrel, Ella Rumpf, Anyier Anei, and Garance Marillier in Alice's drama, with Angelina behind the production as well.Angelina said the film, which is set to be released in France in February 2026, is a 'very personal story'.She added that she's 'always admired Alice's work,' and her 'unique' approach to illness, while praising her for handling Couture's sensitive subjects 'with such delicacy'.'Too often, films about women's struggles — especially cancer — talk about endings and sadness, rarely about life,' Angelina said.'Hardships, illnesses, and pain are part of our existence, but what matters is how we face them,' she added.'My mother was ill for years. One evening, when she was being asked about her chemotherapy, she became very emotional and told me she would have preferred to talk about something else; she felt as though the illness was becoming her entire identity. Angelina recently revealed she was drawn to play the role as Maxine's battle to make her breast cancer diagnosis not become her entire personality reminded her of her own mother Marcheline Bertrand's feelings during her illness (Seen together in 2001) Snapshots from the official trailer for the film show Angelina in floods of tears during her portrayal of Maxine The trailer also hint at Maxine becoming romantically involved with her cinematographer, played by French actor Louise Garrel Shortly after her arrival, Maxine receives a heartwrenching breast cancer diagnosis and throughout the film her relationship with her body and identity plays out Angelina said the film, which is set to be released in Francein February 2026, is a 'very personal story''I love this film because it tells a story that goes far beyond the journey of a sick person: it shows life. It was this luminous perspective that touched me and made me want to play this role.'In May 2013, Angelina had both breasts surgically removed, and then underwent a reconstructive surgery, after discovering she carries a genetic mutation that dramatically increases the chance of being diagnosed with potentially fatal breast cancer. The mutation in her BRCA1 gene, left the mother-of-six with an estimated 87 per cent risk of breast cancer and 50 per cent risk of ovarian cancer.In March 2015, she also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as a preventive measure against developing ovarian cancer. The Unbroken director lost her mother, Marcheline in 2007. Her grandmother and aunt also passed away from cancer.In an interview last month, Angelina called for making BRCA screenings available to every woman. 'Every woman should always be able to determine her own healthcare journey and have the information she needs to make informed choices: genetic testing and screening should be accessible and affordable for women with clear risk factors or a significant family history.''When I shared my experience in 2013, it was to encourage informed choices,' she added. Angelina said that she's 'always admired Alice's work,' and her 'unique' approach to illness, while praising her for handling Couture's sensitive subjects 'with such delicacy' 'Too often, films about women's struggles — especially cancer — talk about endings and sadness, rarely about life,' Angelina said Maxine takes the fashion job as she is going through a divorce, has a teenage daughter, and is preparing to make her next film The film also tells the story of two other women Maxine meets at her job: Angèle, a longtime makeup artist and Ada, an 18-year-old pharmacy student from Nairobi'Healthcare decisions must be personal, and women must have the information and support they need to make those choices. Access to screening and care should not depend on financial resources or where someone lives.'The Maleficent star published a lengthy opinion piece, titled Angelina Jolie Pitt: Diary Of A Surgery in the New York Times explaining her decision to have her fallopian tubes removed.According to Angelina, she had been planning to undergo surgery to remove her ovaries and Fallopian tubes for a while at the time, but a call from her doctor made the procedure more urgent.A blood test detected potential anomalies linked to the protein CA-125, which is used to monitor ovarian cancer, Angelina's doctor told her, urging the actress to see her surgeon, who also had treated her late mother.'I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt,' she wrote. 'I told myself to stay calm, to be strong, and that I had no reason to think I wouldn't live to see my children grow up and to meet my grandchildren.'She noted that she chose to keep her uterus because there is no history of uterine cancer in her family.Angelina has previously spoken of the void in her life that her mother's death had left - a pain that led her to taking the brave decision to have a double mastectomy, so her children may not have to experience the pain she did.The actress's aunt, Debbie Martin, then died of breast cancer at the age of 61 less than two weeks after Angelina revealed she had undergone her mastectomy.
