Angelina Jolie-Pitt on why she loves being in menopause: 'I don't want to be young again'

Preventative surgery to have her ovaries removed sent the actress into menopause early

(AFP/Getty)

Angelina Jolie-Pitt feels comfortable in the menopause and has no desire to be young again.

Ever since writing her first op-ed for The New York Times, the UN envoy and actress has spoken openly about the changes her body has gone through since she underwent her first preventative surgery to reduce her risk of cancer.

Jolie-Pitt underwent a double mastectomy in 2013 and had her ovaries removed in 2015 after testing positive the BRCA1 gene, increasing her risk of cancer dramatically. Her mother, grandmother and aunt all died of cancer and Jolie-Pitt said her mother made her doctor promise “to take my ovaries out” before passing away in 2007.

This operation sent the 40-year-old into menopause prematurely. Women usually enter menopause aged between 45 and 50, but Jolie-Pitt, who has six children with Brad Pitt, said she was unfazed by this change.

"I actually love being in menopause,” she told The Daily Telegraph.

"I haven't had a terrible reaction to it, so I'm very fortunate. I feel older and I feel settled being older.

“I feel happy that I’ve grown up. I don’t want to be young again.”

Jolie-Pitt told Vogue she couldn’t wait to hit 50 and know she has “made it”, after both her mother and grandmother were diagnosed with cancer in their 40s.

Her brave decision to disclose her mastectomy led to a doubling in NHS referrals for genetic testing for breast cancer risk, in what researchers now call the “Angelina Jolie effect”.

Jolie has praised Pitt for his support ahead of her surgeries and for ensuring she didn’t feel less of a woman after the surgeries.

“I knew through the surgeries that he was on my side and that this wasn't something where I was going to feel less of a woman because my husband wasn't going to let that happen.”