Highlights

• Josh Brolin had a very difficult relationship with his mother, resulting in the need to seek her approval.
• Josh Brolin felt liberated by his mother's passing, inspiring him to become a better father.
• Brolin's mother had a troubled past; her death prompted Brolin to change his lifestyle for the better.

Sometimes celebrities seem worlds away from regular people, buying luxury cars, and spending more money than most people will ever see in their lifetime. Other times, they will talk about grieving a relative or a friend who has died, and it's suddenly very easy to relate to them.

Whether it's Steven Spielberg talking about his late dad or Lisa Vanderpump grieving her mom, it's always moving to hear stars share the losses that they have faced in their own lives. It makes regular folks feel like they have something in common with stars, as everyone loses people and has to face the sad reality of death.

Josh Brolin is one of the most famous actors around, and his mother, Jane Cameron Agee, passed away when he was pretty young. Keep reading to find out what he has said about losing this important family member.

Updated March 2024: Josh Brolin has since moved on from his mother dying when he was 27 years old. He has managed to take the mistakes that she made raising him and make himself a very attentive father of his four children. When he is not home with wife, Kathryn Boyd and his two youngest children, Brolin is doing junkets for 'Dune: Part 2' and explaining why he will not be appearing in 'Deadpool and Wolverine'. An answer of which was not given and likely will not be revealed until the film's release.

Josh Brolin Felt Free When His Mom Died

Josh Brolin no longer had to try to win his mother's love after she passed away

Some celebs clean up their acts when they become parents, like Angelina Jolie did. Other people continue to live a life that doesn't feel very stable or steady, even once they decide to start a family. And that sounds like what happened with Josh Brolin's mom.

When Josh Brolin turned 27 years old, his mom died in a car accident. It's a tragedy to lose a parent at any age, but especially at such a young one.

Josh Brolin said he was "liberated" by his mom's passing. Brolin told Men's Journal that he kept a phone message from the day that she passed away.

According to Radar Online, Brolin said, "She called me and got my answering machine with a trick message on it that was like, 'Oh, hey, what’s up? I can’t hear you very well. Who is this?' And she started laughing hysterically. That’s the last I heard from my mom. Four hours later, she was dead."

The actor continued that he was "lost and just spinning" over the next two years, as he had a really tough time dealing with the loss. Brolin also said he felt his mom loved him “conditionally,” as she was really proud of him when he was in jail once for beating people up. He would try to win her support time and time again, which kept Brolin in a really bad place.

"Her love for me was hugely, hugely conditional, so it all comes down to that moment and me spending all my days trying to re-create that moment, putting myself in positions of self-destruction," Brolin explained. "I succumbed to that. And the truth is, although my mom being around was fantastic, after her death, I didn’t have to live up to that anymore. I was liberated. I matured.”

Who Josh Brolin's Mom, Jane Cameron Agee Was

Jane Cameron Agee was James Brolin's first wife and mother to Josh and Jess Brolin

Jane was James Brolin's first wife. The two were married from 1966 to 1984. While the two were married, they welcomed Brolin and his brother Jess.

Jane was working behind the scenes in Hollywood when she and James met. But, Jane had talent in front of the screen as well as a TV personality. As such, she appeared in several TV series. Those series, according to IMDb include:

Unfortunately, the personality Jane showed on the small screen was all an act. Not only did Brolin claim that his mother was hard to please, but her former friend, Sondra Locke described Jane as an "alcoholic nutcase who lived to cause trouble for those in her life."

Josh Brolin's Tragic Childhood

Josh Brolin's childhood was filled with neglect

Both Josh Brolin and his mother had fallen on some difficult times.

Brolin shared that he didn't have the happiest childhood. He said he was in the Cito Rats, a surfing group.

"It was Santa Barbara. It was the 80s. It was punk rock," Brolin explained. "You either had the children of rich, neglectful parents or children of poor, neglectful parents, so it was a mix. But we basically grew up the same way. I've never seen a group like that before or since."

Brolin said in the same interview with The Guardian that after his mom passed away, he had a change of heart about his wild lifestyle. He stopped partying so much and hurting himself with his behavior.

"My mom dying when I was in my 20s. All the impact that had on me that I hadn't moved past; I was always such a momma's boy," Brolin said. "But I realized that I was on a destructive path. I knew that I had to change and mature. It was like I stepped back and saw the hamster wheel."

In his interview with Men’s Journal, Brolin talked about how his mom lived a pretty tough lifestyle. She was part of a pyramid scheme, which made people go after her. She was also an animal conservationist who worked with wild animals.

Because Brolin had such a tricky relationship with his mother, he was able to get into a good place once she was gone and he stopped the self-destructive behavior.

Josh Brolin lost his mom at the young age of 27 to a car accident. That accident changed the course of Brolin's life, helped him to understand what it is to be a parent to his four children, and shaped Brolin into the actor he is today.

Source: Men's Journal, Radar Online, IMDb