Angelina Jolie says her “fighting spirit is finally back” as her children help her rebuild after health struggles
Angelina Jolie has spoken openly about how her six children have helped her regain strength after a difficult stretch marked by health challenges and the end of her marriage.
Speaking to Variety, the 51-year-old actress said she feels like she is slowly returning to herself again while discussing her new film Couture, which explores illness and identity in a way that closely mirrors parts of her own journey.
“I think my fighting spirit is finally back,” Jolie said. “I lost it for a bit. I got kind of taken down a little bit and it’s coming back in large part thanks to my children, who are now older, and encouraging it.”
In the film, Jolie portrays an American director working in Europe who receives a breast cancer diagnosis while on assignment for a fashion project.
The story reflects themes that have personal meaning for her, especially given her own decision in 2013 to undergo a preventive mastectomy after discovering she carries the BRCA1 gene, which increases breast cancer risk.
Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, passed away in 2007 after battling cancer at the age of 56.
Jolie also finalized her divorce from Brad Pitt in 2024, years after filing in 2016, a period she has previously described as emotionally demanding.
Now, she says her children, many of whom are approaching adulthood, have played a central role in helping her move forward.
“My kids are almost all 18, so now they want to see me traveling the world, they want me to get out and do things,” she said. “They know me more than anybody, and they still like me, which says a lot.”
She added that their encouragement has helped her reconnect with parts of herself she had not fully expressed in recent years.
Jolie also told Hello! Magazine at a Couture screening event in London that the film has already opened up important conversations with her daughters about health and inherited risk. She said discussing her character’s diagnosis made it easier to talk more openly about genetics, prevention and not living in fear.
Her daughter Zahara, 21, recently graduated from Spelman College, and sources close to the family say Jolie shares a close and supportive bond with all of her children, who continue to be central in her life as she moves into this next chapter.
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