Actor Angelina Jolie said her role in “Couture,” a breast cancer drama by writer-director Alice Winocour, drew on personal grief and vulnerability tied to her mother’s cancer history.
Jolie told PEOPLE the film shows women from different countries facing hardship through empathy and connection.
In “Couture,” Jolie plays Maxine, an American film director diagnosed with breast cancer while working in Europe on a fashion show segment.
Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died of ovarian and breast cancer in 2007. Jolie revealed in 2013 that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene.
The actor said she was not sure she “was strong enough even five years ago” to take on a role requiring openness and vulnerability.
Jolie hosted an intimate dinner at Atelier Jolie in New York City on Monday, June 15, to honour cancer survivors and the power of community.
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The event included Winocour and Columbia University’s Dr. Rita Charon. It was catered by Eat Offbeat, a group of immigrant and refugee chefs.
Jolie also shared advice shaped by her mother’s illness. She said people should ask those facing cancer about the rest of their lives, not only about the disease.
“Couture” debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last September. It opens in theatres on Friday, June 26.
