'To stand here today means that I did as she asked': Angelina Jolie breaks down as she thanks her late mother in honorary Oscar speech

As Hollywood took time to honour Angelina Jolie for her charitable work, the Oscar-winning actress eloquently thanked her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, for all she did to guide the actress.
On November 16, Jolie was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the fifth annual Governors Awards.
The humanitarian prize was awarded to the actress for her charitable work with United Nations Refugee Agency for the past decade, for which she had made over 40 field missions, including helping refugees from Cambodia and Syria.  
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Great honor: Angelina Jolie accepts the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center

Icon honors icon: Director George Lucas presented Jolie with her humanitarian award

In a packed room at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center, Jolie was introduced by the cast from her directorial debut, 'In the Land of Blood and Honey,' who thanked the 38-year-old actress for giving a voice to hose who served and survived in the Balkan war.



Presented to her by director George Lucas, Jolie was overwhelmed by the applause, but didn't let her emotions get the better of her.
'Thank you so much. It's quite overwhelming,' said Jolie. 'Thank you to the members of the Academy for this honor, my dear friends who are here tonight...And most of all, to my family.'

Inspiration: Angelina made a tearful tribute to her mother, pictured here in 2001

Family ties: Jolie thanked partner Brad Pitt and son Maddox in her speech

The actress, who was accompanied to the event by partner Brad Pitt and son, 12-year-old Maddox, made it a point to thank them.
'My love, your guidance and support make everything that I do possible,' said a tearful Jolie. 'Mad, I'm not going to cry, I promise. I won't embarrass you. You and your brothers and sisters are my happiness. And there is no greater honour in this world than being your mom.'
The Girl Interrupted star than took a moment to thank her greatest influence: her mother.

 

Angelina Jolie looks stunning in black at Governors Awards

 

Stars pick up honorary Oscars at Governors ball

Giving thanks: 'I am very humble to be here tonight among so many extraordinary artists. My mother loves art. She loved film,' said Jolie in her speech

'I am very humble to be here tonight among so many extraordinary artists. My mother loves art. She loved film,' said Jolie. 'She supported any crazy thing I did, but whenever it had meaning, she made a point of telling me,' 'That is what film is for.''
'She never had a career as an artist. She never had the opportunity to express herself beyond her theater class, but she wanted more than for herself, she wanted for Jamie and I to know what it is to have a life as artists, and she gave us that chance,' stated the actress.
'She wasn't really the best critic since she never had anything unkind to say, but she did give me love and confidence. And above all, she was very clear that nothing would be anything if I didn't live a life of use to others. And I didn't know what that meant for a long time,' recounted Jolie.

Mother and child: 'She wasn't really the best critic since she never had anything unkind to say, but she did give me love and confidence,' recounted Jolie

'I came into this business young, worried about my own experiences and my own pain. It was only when I began to travel and look and live beyond my home that I understood my responsibility to others,' recounted the mother of six.
'And when I met survivors of war and famine and rape, I learned what life was like for most people in this world,' said Jolie. 'And how fortunate I was to have food to eat, a roof over my head, a safe place to live and the joy of having my family safe and healthy. And I realized how sheltered I had been. And I was determined to never be that way again.'
At the end of her speech, Jolie thanked the Academy for the rare opportunity to fulfill her mother's wishes.

A mother's advice: 'I will do as my mother asks and I will do the best I can with this life,' Jolie told the audience

'I don't know why this is my life and that's hers. But I will do as my mother asks and I will do the best I can with this life,' said Jolie. 'To be of use. And to stand here today means that I did as she asked. And if she were alive, she would be very proud. So thank you for that.'
Jolie's father Jon Voight, who was in the audience, was not mentioned nor given thanks in her speech.
The Hersholt Award is given to an 'individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.'

Gratitude: 'To stand here today means that I did as she asked. And if she were alive, she would be very proud. So thank you for that,' said Jolie

The prize is named for the Danish actor who became one of Hollywood's most active philanthropists, including a turn as president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund.

Past recipients of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award have included Paul Newman, Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn, to name a few.

The Academy Awards will be handed out on March 2, 2014.

Distinguished company: Past recipients of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award have included Paul Newman, Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn, to name a few