Angelina Jolie has opened up about her decision to undergo a preventive double mastectomy, describing it as a choice made to protect her health and remain present for her children.

According to Page Six, the actress recently spoke candidly—rarely for her—about the surgery and the scars it left behind during an interview with France Inter. Jolie said it was a decision she deeply values, as it allowed her to safeguard her health and continue raising her children.

“I’m more drawn to scars,” she said. “I’m not attracted to the idea of a flawless, perfect life. My scars are the choices I made so I could stay in this life as long as possible with my children. I love those scars for what they represent.”

Jolie explained that the decision carried particular weight because her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died of cancer at age 56 after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer and later breast cancer. She noted that she is now raising her children without their grandmother.

In 2013, after testing positive for a BRCA1 gene mutation, doctors warned Jolie that she faced a very high risk of developing breast cancer. She chose to undergo the preventive surgery. In an op-ed published that year in The New York Times, Jolie revealed that her estimated risk of breast cancer dropped from 87% to under 5% following the procedure.