'She was grace incarnate': Angelina Jolie chokes back tears as she opens up about her late mother Marcheline Bertrand

-Also revealed she wanted to be an undertaker
-Her advice to other parents: 'Never work at the same time'

By Mike Larkin


Choking up: Angelina Jolie fought back tears as she talked about her mother Marcheline Bertrand on 60 Minutes tonight


She is famed for her ever expanding brood of children with her A-list husband Brad Pitt.

But big-hearted Angelina Jolie has revealed she believes she will never live up to the standards set by her own mother Marcheline Bertrand.

The Oscar-winning actress revealed her admiration for her parent - who died at the age of 56 in 2007 following an eight-year battle with ovarian cancer - and choked back tears as she told how talking about her is her 'soft spot'.

Talking about her parent's self-sacrificing nature on 60 Minutes, she said: 'My mother was a full-time mother.

'She didn't have much of her own career, her own life, her own experiences. Everything was for her children.

'I will never be as good a mother as she was. She was just grace incarnate. She was the most generous, loving – she's better than me'

Marcheline was married to Angelina's father Jon Voight from 1971 to 1980, and despite studying under famed acting teacher Lee Strasberg, she concentrated on her family rather than her career.

Angelina has three biological children with Brad Pitt: Shiloh, 5, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 3. They also have three adoptive children: Maddox, 10, Pax, 8, and Zahara, 6.

And the Tomb Raider star has learned from her mother's example, as she arranges her schedule carefully alongside her husband so only one of them is ever working.
She said: 'No we never work at the same time.'


Tearful: Angelina closed her eyes to stop herself from crying during her high-profile interview

Strong memories: Angelina showed 60 Minutes reporter Bob Simon her desktop background was a picture of her beloved mother


Angelina added her favourite time is when she is at home with the children, and said the reason other mothers wish they could be making movies like her is 'because it's easier.'

The interview did take a more macabre turn when she revealed she had a back-up plan in case her acting career failed.

She is launching a new career as a director, but has admitted she she once planned a directorial profession of a different kind - as an undertaker.

A brave undertaking: Even Angelina couldn't resist having a giggle as she recalled her funeral studies


She had actually taken courses in the subject, and said: 'It sounds like this very strange, eccentric, dark thing to do but in fact I lost my grandfather and was very upset with his funeral.

'How somebody passes and how family deals with this passing and what death is should be addressed in a different way.

'If this whole acting thing didn't work out that was going to be my path.'

And she had been deadly serious about the profession, even getting a certificate in the subject.

She said: 'I thought I could do better, so I got a home course when I was about 14. I did a mail-order degree.'

A good spot for a funeral: No doubt Angelina's trained eye would determine there was plenty of space here to bury a coffin


Angelina also claimed that things people read about her in gossip magazines are far removed from who she really is.

She said they are missing 'Me,' adding: 'I don't see those things. I don't know who they are but I assume they're not me.

They're not who I am. They're not what I spend my day caring about.
'I find them quite shallow and often quite wrong.'

Angelina also said she cannot belive she is making her directorial debut with unlikely Bosnian War love story In the Land of Blood and Honey, which she also wrote.

She said: 'I still think it's crazy. I think I'd be terrible with a comedy.'

'I'd be awful at comedies': Angelina dropped another bombshell during her interview session with hunky newsman Bob


And she admitted she did not realise it would be so controversial with people from the country.

She said: 'I did not realise it was going to be be as sensitive. Everything was something to be careful about and sensitive.'

And she admits she is worried about how it will be received, but denied it was a risky move.

She said: 'I am nervous that people are not going to understand it.

'What's risky? Is living your life never trying for anything, never trying anything brave? I'm scared in a good way.'


Changing faces: Angelina as a troubled model in 1998's Gia and as Lara Croft in 2001's Tomb Raider

Life imitating art: Angelina fell in love with Brad Pitt while filming 2005's Mr and Mrs Smith, which was a big hit despite mixed reviews


The A-lister also said she would prefer to only direct from now on.

She said: 'I prefer directing. I loved having the spotlight on someone else. I would much prefer it.

'It's nice for all of that [her appearance] not to matter.'

And while she usually shies away from mentioning her past, she also admitted she had very wild days.

She even claimed she is lucky to be alive, given what she put herself through in her youth.

Bad to the bone: Angelina Jolie opens up to 60 minutes and confesses that she's still 'a bad girl'


She said: 'I'm still a bad girl. I still have that side of me.

'it's just in its place now.it belong to Brad], or, our adventures.'

The sexy star also claimed she is lucky to be alive given her racy past.

'I went through heavier, darker times and I survived them. I didn't die young.'


Wild side: The 36-year-old says that she's lucky to be alive given her racy past

In the Land of Milk and Honey: CBS correspondent Bob Simon visits the actress in Budapest

She added: 'So I am very lucky. There are other artists and people that didn't survive certain things.

People can imagine that I did the most dangerous, and I did the worst.

'For many reasons, I shouldn't be here.'

'You just, too many times where you came close to too many dangerous things, too many chances taken too, too far.'

Her wild side has been highly documented and visible in the past.

In addition to her plethora of tattoos, she was once famous for dating co-stars and famously wore then-husband Billy Bob Thornton's blood in a vial around her neck.

She also gave brother James Haven a passionate kiss on the lips at the 2000 Academy Awards and has spoken publicly about bisexual trysts.

She had a lesbian love affair with her Foxfire co-star Jenny Shimizu, of whom she has said: 'I would probably have married Jenny if I hadn't married my [first] husband [Jonny Lee Miller].'

The now-painfully thin star is known for her humanitarian efforts and her gigantic brood of children.

She is now attempting to make her name as a director with the upcoming film In the Land of Blood and Honey.

The actress also wrote the film, which is a dark love story set during the Bosnian war in the early 1990s.




source: dailymail