Angelina Jolie Honors Her Late Mother Marcheline Bertrand in Moving Speech at Gotham Awards: 'Thinking of My Mom'

• Angelina Jolie paid tribute to her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, while accepting the Gotham Awards’ Performer Tribute on Monday (December 2) in New York City.
• The actress received the honor for her portrayal of opera singer Maria Callas in the acclaimed Netflix biopic Mariadirected by Pablo Larraín
• Bertrand died in 2007 at the age of 56 after a battle with ovarian cancer

Angelina Jolie spoke about her late mother’s influence on her life and career while accepting the Gotham Awards Performer Tribute for her role as Maria Callas in the acclaimed film Maria.

On Monday, Dec. 2, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, the 49-year-old Oscar winner took the stage in a sleeveless black gown to accept the honor and highlight the unique timing of the annual awards show.

“It’s wonderful to be here in New York where Maria Callas was born and lived most of her life on what would have been her 101st birthday,” Jolie said of the legendary opera singer, who she portrays in the Netflix biopic directed by Pablo Larraín. “It’s a great honor to be here with fellow artists, celebrating independent filmmaking.”

After thanking Larraín, 48, for his “vision and sensibility,” she told the story of how the director “grew up going to the opera with his mother.”

“I grew up with a mother who kept books in the oven because there were more books in our house than there were shelves in the apartment we had,” she continued of her mom, Marcheline Bertrand, who died in 2007 at age 56 after battling ovarian cancer. .

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Angelina Jolie at the Gotham Awards in New York on December 2, 2024.

Dia Dipasupil/WireImage

Angelina Jolie was ‘terrified again as an artist’ while filming Maria: ‘I had a safe place to fail’

“And that’s how she solved the problem, while making sure we were fed,” added the actress. “But that was her priority. She took me to the theater. She told me about meeting Tennessee Williams and introduced me to the Lee Strasberg Institute, where I would later study.”

“Now I experience the joy of seeing my daughter love theater and get involved in it,” Jolie said, referring to 16-year-old Vivienne, who helped her mother produce the Tony-winning musical Outsiders. “For many of us, those early influences are what nurture and shape us as artists and people, and that’s so important. Art is how we come together to get to know each other, laugh at each other, and understand each other. And that’s why so much important that the arts are taught in our schools, and it’s so troubling that so many of these programs are being cut.”

The actress continued: “As we know, as Maria knew, art is not easy. It takes skill and training and discipline and preparation, and it can be lonely at times. Part of what drew me to Maria was how hard she worked. She called it ‘straitjacket’ … she gave the world and left the world so much. She would tell her students to carry on, not with fireworks, not with light applause, but with the expression of words and your true feeling, whatever he was.”

“So in Mary’s memory, thinking of my mom… for all those who teach and inspire art in others, all the young artists growing up and everyone in this room celebrating creativity and expression, I’m really, really honored to be here with to all of you and being a part of this community,” added Jolie.

Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in Maria (2024).

Pablo Larraín

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Maria is an intimate portrait of Callas, the pioneering American-born Greek opera star in Paris in the 1970s. In addition to her Gotham honor, Jolie’s performance won praise at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Astra Film Awards.

“Like the iconic figure she portrays, Angelina Jolie transcends mere performance to create something extraordinary,” said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of the Gotham Film & Media Institute in a statement honoring her for her “career-defining” work. Maria in October. “Her interpretation captures the complexity of Maria Callas as an artist and the cultural resonance that defines an icon.”

Oscar winner for 1999 Girl, interruptedThe Academy last nominated Jolie in 2008 Shapeshifter. Ago Mariaher last big screen achievement was at Marvel Eternals (2021).

The Gotham Awards celebrate “independent filmmakers and media creators, providing career-building resources, access to industry influencers and pathways to wider recognition,” according to a statement announcing this year’s nominees.

After the premiere at the International Film Festival in Venice, Maria is now in theaters and will debut on Netflix on December 11th.

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Source: HIS Education