Marcheline Bertrand Passes Away

Angelina Jolie is in mourning after her mother Marcheline Bertrand lost her battle with cancer on Saturday. The former actress had been diagnosed with the disease almost eight years ago. She died on Saturday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

In a statement released by Jolie yesterday, the star revealed she, her partner Brad Pitt and brother James Haven were at the hospital when Bertrand, 56, passed away.

Bertrand, who was partly of native American descent, had supporting roles in movies like Lookin' to Get Out (1982) and The Man Who Loved Women (1983), but gave up her acting career to raise her kids as a single mum, after divorcing their father, actor Jon Voight, in 1978. Angelina said that her inspiration to become an actress was instilled by her mother not her more famous Oscar-wining father, with whom she is thought to have little contact. Bertrand always stayed on the fringes of Hollywood and produced star-studded documentary Trudell in 2005.

Jolie confirmed her mother was battling ovarian cancer last month, but confessed she expected her to win her fight with the disease. In a TV interview with CNN talk show host Larry King, the actress revealed her mother was "doing good", adding, "She has fought for six years and she's a remarkable woman, she's very, very strong and her spirit remains unbroken."

A private funeral is to be held and the family have requested that donations to the hospital's women's cancer research fund be given instead of flowers.

Tags : Marcheline Bertrand, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, James Haven, cancer, ovarian, ovarian cancer, Lookin' to Get Out, The Man Who Loved Women, Original Sin, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Larry King, CNN