When I think of great and enduring yet unconventional love between a mother and daughter, I think of Marcheline Bertrand and her daughter, Angelina Jolie. While we could engage in lively debate about the controversy of their unique lifestyle, the devotion that these two shared and the inspirational influence that they were to each other is clear and irrefutable.

Marcheline Bertrand remained with Jon Voight for only one year after Angelina was born. Angelina is completely estranged from her father and gives her mother all of the credit for her decision to pursue an acting career. She also credits her mother’s joy in doing things for others as the basis for her humanitarian efforts. Jolie was quoted as saying, “It was never like something she had to do. She had a real joy.”

When Bertrand separated from Voight, she abandoned her acting career in order to dedicate her energy to Angelina and her brother, James Haven. Once her children were adults, Bertrand did become involved in film acting and production again but did not have the big screen success of her earlier life.

While Jolie’s teen years were plagued with issues of self esteem, Bertrand was always a steady force behind her. Angelina has often referred to the way that her mother was so kind hearted and never got angry, yet was a strong force when it came time to stand up for her kids. When Jolie receives accolades for her acting or philanthropic efforts, she often speaks of her mother as the inspiration.

Bertrand was only 56 when she lost her 7 year battle with ovarian cancer. Her children were with her when she died. Jolie’s twin daughter with Brad Pitt was named Vivienne Marcheline in honor of her mother. In addition to her work with the United Nations, Jolie’s is very involved with Cancer Schmancer. Started by Fran Drescher, this organization’s mission is to have all women diagnosed and treated in stage one of ovarian cancer.

Angelina Jolie and Marcheline Bertrand: a mother and daughter whose love not only endured but strengthened through the tough times.

Tags: Angelina Jolie, engage, humanitarian efforts, Marcheline Bertrand, philanthropic efforts, unique lifestyle

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 at 8:26 pm and is filed under LBD Style, Mothers and Daughters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.