ANGELINA JOLIE DELIVERS POWERFUL, EMOTIONAL SPEECH ABOUT MOTHERHOOD AT THE 2013 GOVERNORS AWARDS

When Angelina Jolie opened up about her double mastectomy in a shockingly candid and heartfelt op-ed in The New York Times, she wrote that her mother, Marcheline Bertrand—who died of breast cancer at age 56—motivated her decision to undergo surgery. So when she accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2013 Governors Awards in L.A. this past weekend, Jolie didn't hesitate to pour out her heart, giving an emotional acceptance speech about her relationship with her mom, her kids, and the mothers across the world she's met during her humanitarian work.
The 38-year-old actress has been working with the United Nations Refugee Agency since 2001 and was given the title of special envoy after making more than 40 field missions (including recently helping refugees flee the war in Syria). Yet, she still has time to hold the Hollywood spotlight—such as starring as Maleficent in Disney's hotly anticipated remake of Sleeping Beauty and partnering with M.A.C Cosmetics on a range of villain-inspired products. what strikes me much is that,the actress is so relatable by openly devoted to her six children and fiancé, Brad Pitt. In her touching speech, Jolie thanked her family: "My love," she said, addressing Pitt. "Your support and guidance makes everything that I do possible. Mad [Maddox, her son], I'm not going to cry. I promise I won't embarrass you. You and your brothers and sisters are my happiness—there's no greater honor in this world than being your mom."
Then, she explained how her mother loved the arts but never got to express herself through it beyond acting classes. Nonetheless, she still helped make Jolie's dreams come true and pushed her to use her voice to do good. "She drove me to every audition and she'd wait in the car for hours," revealed Jolie. "And she'd always make me feel really good the times I didn't get the job, and when I did, we would jump up and down and scream and yell like little girls. She wasn't really the best critic since she never really had anything unkind to say, but she did give me love and confidence and above all, she was very clear that nothing would mean anything if I didn't have a life of use to others."Jolie ended the speech by making us all reflect on how we can make change. "We are all, everyone in this room, so fortunate," she said. "I have never understood why some people are lucky enough to be born with the chance that I had—with this path in life. And why across the world, there's a woman just like me with the same abilities and the same desires, the same work ethic and love for her family who would most likely make better films and better speeches. Only she sits in a refuge camp, and she has no voice. She worries about what her children will eat, how to keep them safe, and if they'll ever return home. I don't know why this is my life and that's hers…But I will do as my mother asked, and I will do the best I can with this life to be of use. And to stand here today means that I did as she asked. If she were alive, she would be very proud, so thank you.