Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on the red carpet for Pitt’s film “The Tree of Life” in 2011. (REUTERS)
Jolie and Pitt in 2011. (REUTERS)
Angelina Jolie will walk the “World War Z” red carpet on Sunday, in her first public appearance since revealing that she underwent a cancer-fighting, preventative double mastectomy, according to published reports.
The longtime gal pal of “Z” star Brad Pitt is set to be at his side at the London premiere of his post-apocalyptic zombie flick, E! News reported.
Jolie has been keeping a low profile since she announced that she underwent the surgery because she carries the faulty BRCA1 gene, which dramatically increases her chances of contracting breast or ovarian cancer.
PHOTOS: JOLIE AS UN GOODWILL AMBASSADOR
She’s had her breasts removed and reportedly has plans to do the same with her ovaries.
Breast cancer killed Jolie’s aunt over the weekend near San Diego. Jolie’s mom, Marcheline Bertrand, lost her battle with ovarian cancer in 2007.
The high rate of cancer-related deaths in her family prompted Jolie to have genetic testing, when she discovered her BRCA1 gene.
The Oscar-winning actress — who took home a Best Supporting Actress statuette for her role in “Girl, Interrupted’’ — wrote in her first-person piece how she came to her dramatic decision.
“My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56,’’ said Jolie, the daughter of French actress Marcheline Bertrand and actor Jon Voight.
Jolie wrote that her kids “often speak of ‘Mommy’s mommy,’ and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us.
“They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is, I carry a ‘faulty’ gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
“Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much as I could,’’ Jolie said.
The actress, routinely called “the most beautiful woman in the world,” praised Pitt, describing him as “so loving and supportive.”
“Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries. We managed to find moments to laugh together,’’ she wrote.
“We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.”
Jolie underwent three surgeries between Feb. 2 and April 27. Incredibly, she managed to keep her plight under wraps from the media.
Between her major surgeries, the famed UN special envoy even continued her humanitarian work abroad, sources said.
In March — soon after her second operation — she went with British Foreign Secretary William Hague to the Democratic Republic of Congo to highlight the plight of rape victims in war zones, the Times of London said.
She traveled for hours on bumpy dirt roads — and even carried her own bag, colleagues said.
Jolie gave “no sign she was undergoing treatment,’’ a stunned Hague told the paper.
“She’s a very brave lady, not only to carry on with her work so well during such treatment but also to write about it now and talk about it.”
Jolie refused to worry about her film career, turning down several roles to concentrate on her health and her human-rights work, sources told the Mail.
She turned down the sequel to her 2010 spy movie “Salt,’’ at least for now, as well as a terrorist action flick, “Survivor,’’ the Mail said.
But the actress — who was previously married to Jonny Lee Miller, star of the CBS series “Elementary,’’ and actor Billy Bob Thornton — likely won’t wait much longer to marry Pitt, the Mail said, quoting a pal.
“Angie is keen on a wedding, and the kids are clamoring for a marriage and keep asking Brad and Angie when it’s happening,” the friend said.
The pair famously fell in love on the set of 2005’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” — while Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston.
They got engaged in 2011. They were said to be eyeing their magnificent château in France as the wedding location.
Regardless, Jolie wrote she had only one thing in mind when she underwent the knife.
“I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer . . . They can see my small scars, and that’s it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was,’’ she said.