How an actress transformed her battle with cancer into legislative victory
In short: Marcheline Bertrand was known to many as the mother of Angelina Jolie, but her true legacy lies in her fierce activism. After facing a decade-long battle with cancer, she turned her personal struggle into a movement to fund education and outreach for gynecological health.
Born in Blue Island, Illinois, on May 9, 1950, Marcheline Bertrand began her career as an actress, studying under Lee Strasberg. Her initial roles featured a 1971 turn on the TV series Ironside and a part in the 1983 comedy The Man Who Loved Women. However, her career trajectory shifted significantly toward producing and social activism later in life.
In 1983, Bertrand founded Woods Road Productions with Bill Day. Her later years were defined by her partnership with Santee Sioux musician and activist John Trudell. Together, they founded the All Tribes Foundation, which by 2007 had distributed more than $800,000 in grants to support reservation-based programs aimed at preserving Native American cultural and economic survival.
Bertrand's most enduring impact may be her work in healthcare advocacy. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1999, she co-founded the Give Love Give Life organization with Trudell to raise awareness for gynecological cancers through music. This advocacy was instrumental in supporting Johanna's Law, a piece of legislation designed to fund national outreach and education regarding the symptoms of such cancers. The law was signed into law on January 12, 2007.
Bertrand's health battles were personal and familial; both her mother and sister also died of cancer. After fighting ovarian and breast cancer for eight years, she passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on January 27, 2007, at the age of 56. She was surrounded by her children, James Haven and Angelina Jolie, at the time of her death.
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