Angelina Jolie proud to display mastectomy scars as they remind her of ‘life people carry’

Angelina Jolie is grateful for her mastectomy scars as they remind her of the commitment she made for her children.

The Oscar winner underwent a preventative double mastectomy in February 2013 after learning that she had a high risk of developing breast cancer due to the defective BRCA1 gene.

In an interview for French Inter published this week, Angelina explained that she is proud of her scars because they hold so much meaning for her and her family.

“Well, I’ve always been someone more interested in the scars and the life that people carry,” the mother-of-six shared. “I’m not drawn to some perfect idea of a life that has no scars. So no, I think, hey, you know, I see my scars are a choice I made to do what I could do to stay here as long as I could with my children.”

In March 2015, Angelina also had an ovary and fallopian tube removed as tests indicated possible signs of early ovarian cancer.

The Maleficent star’s mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, died following an eight-year battle with breast and ovarian cancer at the age of 56 in 2007.

“I love my scars because of that, you know, and I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to have the choice to do something proactive about my health. I lost my mom when I was young, and I’m raising my children without a grandmother,” the 50-year-old continued.

“So for me, no, I think this is life. And if you get to the end of your life and you haven’t made (a big, you know), you haven’t made mistakes, you haven’t made a mess, you don’t have scars, you haven’t lived a full enough life, I think.”

Earlier this year, Angelina displayed her mastectomy scars for the first time as part of a photoshoot for TIME France.

The actress is currently promoting her new drama, Couture, in which she plays an American filmmaker who travels to Paris for Fashion Week.

Directed by Alice Winocour, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September and is set to be released in French cinemas on 18 February.