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Angelina Jolie Opens Up About Her Late Mother Marcheline Bertrand: ‘She Never Spoiled Herself’

For Angelina Jolie, teaming up with Guerlain is about more than a partnership. The award-winning actress and humanitarian told Hello! that she decided to partner with the French perfume brand because it reminds her of her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who died of ovarian cancer at the age of 56 in January 2007.

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The First They Killed My Father director, who is the face of the brand’s new international scent Mon Guerlain, told the publication that Guerlain is a brand her mother loved and that she knew from her childhood.

Angelina Jolie and mother Marcheline Bertrand in 2001.
Angelina Jolie and mother Marcheline Bertrand in 2001. Charbonneau/BEI/BEI/Shutterstock

“It spoke to her, as it does to me, of beauty, history and quality,” she explained. “It’s the oldest perfume house in the world, from France, a country I love and feel connected to and spend time in. As I talked to Guerlain about the artistry they devote to the making of the perfume and the way they work in communities, sourcing their ingredients, the pieces came together and I felt we were a match.”

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While recalling her late mother, who was also an actress and humanitarian, Jolie shared that Bertrand was a very “natural” woman.

“She never spoiled herself, never wore make-up, and wore modest jewelery, but she always had a few special items for when she wanted to feel like a lady,” she recalled. “One of those special items – and I remember it because it seemed so elegant – was her Guerlain powder (Ladies in All Climates). I think it speaks of all women having those few special things that make them feel feminine. And so when I was a little girl, I would associate Guerlain with that.”

For Jolie, who is the mom of six kids with estranged husband Brad Pitt, her go-to product is under eye concealer, she told Hello!, while also admitting that her approach towards aging is to appreciate life.

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“Maybe because my last decade has included many health scares and a focus on raising children, I am simply happy to be healthy, and above all that the children are healthy,” Jolie, who underwent a double mastectomy and later had her ovaries removed in March 2015, said. “There is nothing else to fear. It makes life clear.”

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