Angelina Jolie's 2013 and 2015 New York Times op-eds, on her decision to have preventative double mastectomy and ovarian removal surgery, showed Jolie to be a truly exceptional role-model and advocate for women's informed choices and self-care.

She wrote about the strange clarity that comes with these life-threatening decisions, how her children always came first and about her unfailing opinion that women should be at the centre of decisions made about their own body.

She bravely wrote, 'I feel feminine, and grounded in the choices I am making for myself and my family. I know my children will never have to say, "Mom died of ovarian cancer."'

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Now, Jolie has revealed she has undergone another health scare, though, thankfully, much less severe.

She revealed in her recent Vanity Fair article a fair amount about her recent divorce with husband and father to her children Brad Pitt.

The split has been, understandably, fairly stressful on the 42 year-old actress, director, lecturer at London School of Economics and activist.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in 2014 at the Maleficent premierepinterest
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Jolie and Pitt in 2014

She decided to opt for sole-custody of her six children, and Brad Pitt has spoken out in GQ about his reliance on drugs an alcohol in recent years.

She explained to the magazine that she is not one to show a huge amount of emotion in front of her children:

'I was very worried about my mother, growing up—a lot. I do not want my children to be worried about me. I think it's very important to cry in the shower and not in front of them. They need to know that everything's going to be all right even when you're not sure it is.'

As she was going through all of the cancer scares back in 2013, Jolie kept these moments from her children. Likewise she has just revealed she developed Bell's palsy last year.

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Bell's palsy is a condition that leads to paralysis of facial nerves and results in restricted facial movement.

Jolie thankfully made a full recovery through acupuncture, though it seems she believes the condition was triggered by a certain amount of neglect of her own wellbeing:

'Sometimes women in families put themselves last,' she says, 'until it manifests itself in their own health.'

Hopefully this will be the reminder she needs to put herself first occasionally, despite her important work and family life.

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Daisy Murray
Digital Fashion Editor

Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.