Marcheline Bertrand Passed Away Yesterday

Sadly Angelina’s mother passed away yesterday, as Angie reported today via a release. It appears the cancer that she’s been fighting for such a long time has finally succeeded in taking her life.

Bertrand gave up a promising acting career years ago to raise the children of Jon Voight.

Bertrand, who had small roles in the movies “Lookin‘ to Get Out” in 1982 and “The Man Who Loved Women” in 1983, raised Jolie and her brother after divorcing their father, Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight , when Jolie was a toddler.

When she and Voight divorced, Bertrand could no longer deal with auditions and still be the mom she wanted to be. Angelina has often commented that people think that she and brother, James Haven, grew up with loads of money and with gleaming silver spoons, but she remembers things differently. I’ve heard her state on many occassions that because her father took acting very seriously, he wouldn’t take just any role. So, often, the roles were a long ways in between, so the family endured financial hardships, even though her father was a successful actor. Then, when he left the home, Marcheline had quite a time feeding and caring for her children. I know that Angie’s modeling, she’s said, was a strain on her young mother as well, but her sacrifice was boundless for her children. Nevertheless, her efforts produced a talented director and a highly-successful film actress, so I am sure she was very proud.

Angelina and James both adored their mother and this must be a particularly difficult time for all involved. The reports assert that James, Angie and Brad were all present when Marcheline breathed her last breath. If you’d like to send condolences, the family has asked that you give it in the form of support to the Women’s Cancer Research Institute. Our prayers and love are with the family right now. I pray they can stay close in this time of need.

Thanks to Cynthia and Sami for the tip. My plane just landed in San Francisco so I’d have missed this for a while had I not been blessed with such eagle-eyed tipsters.