Angelina Jolie has offered some heartfelt advice on cancer while reminiscing about her late mother in an emotional statement.

The 50-year-old Hollywood icon, renowned for her significant humanitarian efforts, spoke about the loss of her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, to breast and ovarian cancer.

During a Q&A session for her latest film, Couture - where she portrays a filmmaker named Maxine navigating the Paris fashion scene while facing a cancer diagnosis - the Girl, Interrupted actress appeared emotional when asked for advice by a fan on coping with recent loss.

Jolie, who lost her mother at age 56 in 2007 after a nearly eight-year battle with cancer, paused to collect her thoughts before saying: "I'm very sorry for your loss."

Angelina Jolie has opened up about her mother's cancer struggles during the Toronto International Film Festival (Michael Loccisano / Staff / Getty Images)

She continued: "One thing I remember my mother saying when she had cancer… we'd had a dinner and people were asking her how she was doing. She said, 'All people ever ask me about is cancer.'

"I would suggest, if you know someone who's going through something, inquire about all the other aspects of their life too. They're a complete person. And they're still living."

The actress elaborated on how Couture effectively portrayed this, providing her character with a persona beyond her cancer diagnosis.

Jolie added: "What I truly appreciate is that many films about cancer focus solely on the illness, defining life by it, rather than exploring who this life belongs to.

Jolie and her mother, Marcheline Bertrand (LUCY NICHOLSON / Stringer / Getty Images)

"Who is Maxine? Maxine isn't just about this. She's a mother, an artist, she's sexual, and all these facets were crucial to showcase, to live fully while we're here.

"We should strive to live as fully as possible."

Couture had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday (7 September).

"I felt very vulnerable," Jolie, who underwent a preventive double mastectomy in 2013 due to carrying the BRCA1 gene, said during an interview with Variety at the festival.

She also shared with the outlet that she found solace on set by wearing one of her late mother’s necklaces during filming.

Marcheline Bertrand and Jolie's father, Jon Voight, were married between 1971 to 1980 (Fotos International / Contributor / Getty Images)

"I consider it such a personal film," the mother-of-six added. "It feels so intimate that, to me, it’s perhaps the one film that doesn’t seem like a film."

While acknowledging she anticipated the film would 'evoke many personal emotions', Jolie explained: "But I have always found that the most profound films often have the most compassionate environments. There's a unique comfort in having genuine conversations and emotions with a supportive community.

"It was quite healing in many ways because you look at the faces of others on set, knowing that one in three people have cancer, and nearly everyone has been in a hospital room with someone they loved. Everyone on set has lost someone dear to them."

She concluded: "You become aware that life is fragile and fleeting, and people we can't imagine the world without eventually leave us... It’s difficult not to feel a deep connection with a crew and fellow actors in such a project."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.