Angelina Jolie Shares Emotional Story of Her Mom Watching, as Jon Voight Attended Oscars with Another Woman
Long before she ever took home an Oscar, Angelina Jolie had a very special experience connected to the ceremony.
The 49-year-old Maria star accepted the Maltin Modern Master Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival recently. In an interview with film critic Leonard Maltin, she discussed significant events in her career, such as what it meant to win the 2000 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for ‘Girl, Interrupted’.
Jolie took a moment to think about how much she wanted to divulge when she was questioned about the significance of that victory. She went on to reminisce about her father, Jon Voight, winning Best Actor for ‘Coming Home’ at the 1979 Academy Awards. Her parents were already divorced at that point; Voight and Marcheline Bertrand had broken up in 1976 and divorced in 1980.
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Jolie remembered that she and her brother, James Haven, had been taken care of by her mother, who is an aspiring actress, that night at home. She explained that Bertrand’s own mother had once aspired to be an actress, which is probably why she exposed her daughter to Chicago theatre as often as she could.
Jolie was later informed by Bertrand that Voight and another woman, actress Stacey Pickren, attended the Oscars that year while they watched from their apartment. At the time, Bertrand was in her twenties, raising two young children and observing her ex-husband in the spotlight. Jolie was deeply affected by that time and the feelings her mother must have had.
Twenty years later, Jolie thought of her mother right away as she took home her first Oscar. She remembered leaving the stage and phoning Bertrand to inform her that she was the rightful owner of the prize, even presenting it to her as a token of appreciation. That was one of the most significant times in Jolie’s life, she said.
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Director Ava DuVernay presented Jolie with the prize during the festival, praising her contributions to cinema. Jolie broke down in tears during her speech as she talked about her mother, Bertrand, and how she had always supported her daughter’s artistic goals while sacrificing her own. Even Jolie’s characters, such as Lisa Rowe, Lara Croft, and Gia Carangi, received messages from Bertrand. What would Jolie’s mother write to her today, she wonders now?
OTT is now showing Jolie’s most recent movie, ‘Maria’, in which she plays opera icon Maria Callas.
–Farheen Ali
