WATCH interview with Angelina's uncle below
The star’s uncle Ron Martin, revealed that his wife died on Sunday morning after being taken off a life support system, and praised his niece’s decision to undergo preventative surgery.
Referring to his late wife, who was 61 when she died, Ron said: ‘it gave her a lot of gratitude that Angelina now saved her life.’
‘Since she couldn’t go back and save her life, she was happy to hear that,’ he said.
'I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.’
The tragic news comes less than a fortnight after 37 year-old Angelina revealed she had undergone a secret double mastectomy in February after discovering she had an 87 per cent chance of developing breast cancer and a 50 per cent risk of getting ovarian cancer.
Angelina lost her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, in 2007 to cancer, while her grandmother Lois Bertrand and great-grandmother Virginia Gouwens also died of the disease.
Writing in a US newspaper about her decision to go public with her surgery, Angelina said she hoped that other women would benefit from her experience.
She said: ‘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% to under 5%. I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.’