Angelina Jolie's father saw the family a couple of days ago, but knew nothing of his daughter's surgery.
Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy made headline news around the world on Tuesday (May 14, 2013), with the Hollywood actress receiving glowing tributes for her extraordinary pro-activeness in minimizing her risk of breast cancer. It seems Angelina kept the mastectomy a secret from everyone other than husband Brad, with her own father Jon Voight revealing that he learned of his daughter's surgery via her celebrated piece in The New York Times.
"My love and admiration for my daughter can't be explained in words. I saw her two days ago with my son Jamie. We all got together for his birthday, with her and Brad (Pitt). But I didn't know. It wasn't obvious at all. I found out (Tuesday) morning," Voight told the Daily News, "I was as surprised as anyone and deeply moved by the way she's handled this."
The father-daughter duo fell out in 2011 though they reunited several years later and are now thought to be on good terms. Voight said he "absolutely" respected Jolie's decision to keep him in the dark. "I completely understand. I want the focus to be on the inspiration," he said. The actor spoke to his daughter after learning about the procedure on Tuesday, though chose not to discuss the global reaction to her announcement, "She just explained to me and educated me on this stuff."
In her piece for the Times, Jolie wrote, "I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer."
Breast cancer alone kills some 458,000 people each year, according to the World Health Organization.
Jon Voight [L] and Angelina Jolie [R] Have Had A Turbulent Relationship Over The Years
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