Heartbreaking Details About Marcheline Bertrand's Cancer Diagnosis

The tragic death of Angelina Jolie's mother, Marcheline Bertrand, at just 56 in January 2007 came seven years after she was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1999. That was the beginning of a long road ahead, as she was later also diagnosed with breast cancer. It was devastating news she had always been afraid of hearing. Her own mother, Lois Bertrand, had died from ovarian cancer at just 45 years old. Lois died so young that she didn't get to meet her famous granddaughter, who was born about 18 months after her death. 

For the rest of her short life, Marcheline underwent harsh treatments in hopes of avoiding her mother's fate. But she feared she wouldn't. "There is no longevity on my mother's side of the family," Jolie told Esquire in 2007. "My grandmother also died young, so my mother always thought it could happen to her." And then it happened to Marcheline's younger sister as well. Debbie Martin died from breast cancer in May 2013, shortly after Jolie announced she had undergone a double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer.

Jolie's decision to undergo the surgery, and to later have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as well, came from learning she carried a defective gene that greatly increased her chances of having breast and ovarian cancers. Jolie's decision sparked a national debate, but to her loved ones it was a no-brainer. "Had we known, we certainly would have done exactly what Angelina did," her aunt's husband, Ron Martin, told The Guardian. Marcheline's cancer journey was brutal, but she didn't want it to be in vain. 

After she received her initial diagnosis, Marcheline Bertrand was inspired to help others. She and her then-partner, John Trudell, established Give Love Give Life, a foundation that raised awareness of women's cancers through concerts. Through their work, Bertrand and Trudell also raised funds to promote Johanna's Law, also known as the Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act. The law went into effect in January 2007, just weeks before Bertrand's death. She may have feared she would have her mother's fate, but she hoped she could prevent others from it.

And her daughter carried on her legacy. By choosing to be upfront about her BRCA1 gene and her decision to undergo preventative surgeries, Angelina Jolie may have a huge impact on women's health. Known as the "Angelina Jolie effect," her decision inspired other women to get tested for the gene, increasing awareness and potentially getting them started on life-saving treatments early on. Her impact hasn't just been passive, though. Jolie has actively used her voice to fight for research and improved treatments for these cancers.

Jolie wants women to grow old enough to carry their wisdom forward. She wishes she would have met her grandmother, and that her mother would have seen her grandchildren grow up, as Bertrand's presence would have enriched the lives of Jolie's six children. "It's hard now for me to consider anything in this life divinely guided when I think of how much their lives would have benefited from time with her and the protection of her love and grace," she wrote in a 2019 Time essay.