Most people who search for Lois June Gouwens are not looking for a celebrity. They are tracing the family history of Angelina Jolie and want to understand who her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, came from. That search almost always leads back to one name — Lois June Gouwens.
This article covers who Lois June Gouwens was, where she came from, who her parents were, who she married, and when she died. It also explains why her name shows up in genealogy databases rather than in entertainment news or mainstream biographies.
Who Was Lois June Gouwens
Lois June Gouwens was a private individual. She was not a public figure, an entertainer, or anyone with a documented public career. Her name appears today because of her place in a well-known family tree.
She is best known as the mother of Marcheline Bertrand, who was an actress and the mother of Angelina Jolie. That connection makes Lois June Gouwens the maternal grandmother of one of the most recognized actresses in the world.
The family line is straightforward: Lois June Gouwens → Marcheline Bertrand → Angelina Jolie.
Her name surfaces mainly in genealogy records, memorial pages, and family-history databases. You will not find her in entertainment news archives or Hollywood biographies. That is not unusual — many relatives of famous people become searchable only because of the celebrity connection, not because of anything in their own public lives.
Birth and Early Life
Lois June Gouwens was born on 14 February 1928. The birth date is consistent across multiple genealogy sources, so that detail is well supported.
Her birth location is listed slightly differently depending on the source. Familypedia and FamilySearch both record her birthplace as South Holland, Cook County, Illinois. Ancestry lists Chicago or Cook County, Illinois. The difference is minor and common in genealogy records — South Holland is a village in Cook County, so both descriptions refer to the same general area.
Beyond her birth details, there is no confirmed public information about her childhood, schooling, or upbringing. The Gouwens family had no documented public profile, and no records have surfaced that describe her early years in any detail.
Her Parents — Royal Gerrit Gouwens and Virginia Kasha
Her father was Royal Gerrit Gouwens. Her mother was Virginia Kasha, recorded in some sources as Virginia Jean Kasha and in others as Virginia A. Kasha. The slight variation in the middle name or initial is a common occurrence in genealogy records and almost certainly refers to the same person.
Both Find a Grave and FamilySearch list Royal Gerrit Gouwens as her father and Virginia Kasha as her mother. Ancestry supports the same parental names. No public biographical details about either parent go beyond their names in these family-history records.
Like their daughter, Royal Gerrit Gouwens and Virginia Kasha were private individuals with no documented public profile outside of genealogy databases.
Marriage to Rolland F. Bertrand
In 1949, Lois June Gouwens married Rolland F. Bertrand in Illinois. After the marriage, she is recorded in family trees as Lois June Gouwens Bertrand. MyHeritage, Find a Grave, and Ancestry all support this marriage date and location.
The marriage is the key link in the celebrity family connection. It is through this marriage that Marcheline Bertrand was born, and it is through Marcheline that the line leads to Angelina Jolie.
Genealogy records also list other children from this marriage. According to sources including Geni, the family included Raleigh Bertrand and Debbie Bertrand in addition to Marcheline. However, the publicly documented celebrity connection runs specifically through Marcheline Bertrand.
No confirmed details about Rolland F. Bertrand’s occupation or personal biography are available beyond what the marriage record shows. Like his wife, he appears in genealogy records rather than in any public biographical source.
Why Marcheline Bertrand Matters Here
Marcheline Bertrand later became an actress in her own right, though she remained relatively private compared to her daughter. She and actor Jon Voight had two children together — James Haven and Angelina Jolie. Marcheline passed away in 2007.
Her connection to Lois June Gouwens is what makes the Gouwens name searchable today. Without that family line, Lois would exist only in local Illinois records and private family histories.
Her Death and Burial
Lois June Gouwens died in 1973, at approximately age 45. That much is consistent across sources. The specific details, however, differ slightly depending on where you look.
One source records her death date as 11 November 1973 and lists her death location as Beverly Hills, California. Another source simply states she died in California at around age 45 without specifying a precise date. Because the sources do not fully agree, it is worth noting the discrepancy rather than presenting one version as the definitive record.
Her burial and memorial records are associated with Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip, Cook County, Illinois. That detail is supported by Geni and Find a Grave. It suggests that despite dying in California, her remains were returned to the Chicago area for burial.
She died relatively young, before her daughter Marcheline had become well known, and long before Angelina Jolie became a household name.
Why Her Name Appears in Genealogy Records and Not Biographies
This is one of the most common questions people have when they first come across her name. The answer is simple: she was a private person whose life was not documented in newspapers, entertainment coverage, or public archives beyond what family records captured.
Genealogy platforms like FamilySearch, Ancestry, Find a Grave, MyHeritage, and Geni preserve names, dates, and relationships for everyday people — not just public figures. That is exactly where Lois June Gouwens shows up.
Her name became searchable because of Angelina Jolie’s fame. When people research a celebrity’s background, they often trace the family tree back through the maternal line, which leads them from Jolie to Marcheline Bertrand and then to Lois June Gouwens. The interest is almost always genealogical rather than biographical.
For those interested in the broader context of celebrity family histories and background profiles, ibizbyte covers a range of profile and biography content worth exploring.
This kind of search pattern is common. Many relatives of famous people have no public profile of their own but become referenced frequently online because their name appears in a celebrity’s family tree. Lois June Gouwens fits that pattern exactly.
A Summary of What We Know
- Full name: Lois June Gouwens (later Lois June Gouwens Bertrand)
- Born: 14 February 1928, South Holland or Chicago area, Cook County, Illinois
- Parents: Royal Gerrit Gouwens and Virginia Kasha
- Married: Rolland F. Bertrand, 1949, Illinois
- Children: Marcheline Bertrand, Raleigh Bertrand, and Debbie Bertrand (per genealogy records)
- Died: 1973, reportedly in Beverly Hills, California (date listed in some sources as 11 November 1973)
- Burial: Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Alsip, Cook County, Illinois
- Known for: Being the maternal grandmother of Angelina Jolie through her daughter Marcheline Bertrand
Final Thoughts
Lois June Gouwens lived a private life that has very little documented public record. She was born in Illinois in 1928, married in 1949, raised a family that included Marcheline Bertrand, and died in 1973 at a relatively young age.
Her name is not famous on its own. It is known today because of the family line she is part of. That line — from Lois June Gouwens to Marcheline Bertrand to Angelina Jolie — is what makes her a subject of interest for people researching celebrity genealogy.
What the genealogy records confirm is that she was a real person with a real family history, and that her daughter went on to raise one of the most prominent entertainers of the past few decades. That connection, simple as it is, is why her name continues to be searched today.
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