Kelly Osbourne is one of the latest celebrities to speak out in support of Angelina Jolie‘s decision to have her ovaries removed – and she shared her very personal reason.
Jolie revealed in a New York Times op-ed Tuesday that she had the surgery after learning that she may have an early form of cancer, and Osbourne, whose mom, Sharon, battled cancer in the past, said that she faced the same decisions as the Oscar winner.
“I actually do have the cancer gene,” Osbourne, 30, said on Tuesday’s episode of The Talk. “My mom made all of us get tested after she found out that she had it and got her double mastectomy.”
The former Fashion Police host empathized with the tough choice Jolie was faced with, and said she would ultimately do the same and undergo preventive surgery.
“I agree with this 100 percent,” said Osbourne. “I know that one day I will eventually have to do it too because if I have children, I want to be there to bring them up. I want to be there to support them in every way I can.
“I have been the child of a cancer survivor, so being on that end as well is really, really hard to deal with, so I’m so lucky to have the brave mother I have that has taught me so much,” she continued. “It’s something I applaud Angelina for because she’s bringing attention to this, and people are now going to go out and get tested for it.”
Sharon Osbourne successfully fought colon cancer in 2002, and had a double mastectomy years later after discovering that she had the breast cancer gene.
“As soon as I found out I had the breast cancer gene, I thought: ‘The odds are not in my favor,’ ” she told the U.K.’s Hello! magazine at the time. “I decided to just take everything off.”
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Donald Trump Is TIME's 2024 Person of the Year
- Why We Chose Trump as Person of the Year
- Is Intermittent Fasting Good or Bad for You?
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- The 20 Best Christmas TV Episodes
- Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope
- The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com