Angelina Jolie Thanks Her Children for 'Encouraging' Her 'Fighting Spirit'

Madison E. GoldbergThu, June 18, 2026 at 4:40 PM UTC

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Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Maddox Jolie-Pitt and Knox Jolie-Pitt at the 'Eternals' premiere on Oct. 27, 2021Credit: Tim P. Whitby/Getty -

Angelina Jolie thanked her six kids for encouraging her to travel and "get out and do things" in a new interview with Variety

She credited her kids with helping her get her "fighting spirit" back following her 2013 double mastectomy and the lengthy divorce proceedings that followed her filing for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016

Jolie plays a costume designer going through a divorce who gets diagnosed with breast cancer in her upcoming film, Couture

Angelina Jolie is opening up about how her six kids have supported her following a period that included her health struggles and divorce.

"I think my fighting spirit is finally back," Jolie, 51, told Variety while speaking about her latest film, Couture, and how it mirrors her own journey. "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 Couture, Jolie plays an American film director who's in Europe filming a segment for a fashion show when she's diagnosed with breast cancer.

The movie, from writer-director Alice Winocour, carries echoes from Jolie's own life, as she underwent a mastectomy in 2013 after learning that she carried the BRCA1 gene, making her genetically predisposed to develop breast cancer. Jolie's mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, died at age 56 in 2007 after being diagnosed with cancer.

She filed for divorce from ex-husband Brad Pitt in 2016, and the proceedings were not settled until 2024.

"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," the Maria actress told Variety. "They know me more than anybody, and they still like me, which says a lot. I think they're very encouraging of me kind of getting back to aspects of myself that maybe I hadn't felt as free to do."

The actress noted in an interview with Hello Magat the Vertical Celebrates Couture event at The Whitby Hotel on Tuesday, June 16, that her performance in the new film "is going to help" her discuss cancer risk with her daughters.

"I've spoken to them, of course, a bit about it, but even telling them that it's coming out and they were talking to me about what it's about — it got us into the conversation about the gene and maybe if they have it and how medicine's changing or how we live life or all the many things that could happen and not to be afraid," she continued, per the outlet. "And all of us go through something in life."

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Jolie's daughter, Zahara, 21, recently graduated from Spelman College, and a source told PEOPLE exclusively in May that the mother-daughter duo have an "amazing relationship."

Alongside Zahara, Jolie and Pitt share twins Vivienne and Knox, 17, daughter Shiloh, 19, and sons Pax, 22, and Maddox, 24. The insider went on to say the Eternals star encourages all of her children to embrace their full individuality, adding that raising her kids and being a mom "makes her the happiest."

"She really encourages all the kids to embrace their individualities," the source added. "She always loved their different personalities, interests and talents. She makes an effort to support what matters to each of them."

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Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Knox Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, and Zahara Jolie-Pitt at the 'Eternals' premiere on Oct. 18, 2021Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Jolie recently hosted an intimate dinner — catered by the immigrant and refugee chefs of Eat Offbeat — on Monday, June 15, in N.Y.C., where guests honored the strength of cancer survivors ahead of Couture's upcoming release.

At the dinner, Jolie told PEOPLE exclusively that Couture "is a beautifully written piece about women from different countries."

"It has something to say that I thought could be useful to people, showing how everyone is dealing with things that make us very human, and that if we can figure out how to live through challenges by leaning on each other and having more empathy towards one another, the better and less alone we will be," she added.

Couture is in theaters on Friday, June 26.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”