Angelina Jolie says 'I can't wait to turn 50 and know I've made it' after both mother and grandmother had cancer in their 40s

The actress had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed this year after learning she had a 50 per cent increased risk of getting the cancer

(STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Angelina Jolie said she can’t wait to reach 50 and know she's "made it", after both her mother and grandmother were diagnosed with cancer in their forties.

Speaking to Vogue, the actress said: “Both of the women in my family, my mother and my grandmother started dying in their 40s. I’m 40. I can’t wait to hit 50 and know I made it.”

Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand died in 2007 from ovarian cancer, her grandmother also died from the disease.

Jolie revealed in March this year she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed, after discovering she had a 50 per cent chance of developing the cancer.

Speaking of her decision to go public with the news, she said: “It really connected me with other women. I wish my mom had been able to make those choices.”

Discussing the surgery, she said: “The ovaries are an easy surgery, but the hormone changes — interesting.”

The operation brought on a 'forced menopause', which Jolie says going through made her “feel grounded as a woman”

Two years prior to having her ovaries removed, the Oscar winning actress underwent a preventative double mastectomy procedure after learning she carried the BRCA1 gene mutation, which increased her risk of contracting breast cancer by 87 per cent.

Following the mastectomy, Jolie’s risk reduced to below five per cent. Writing in the New York Times, she said: “I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.”

Jolie, who is married to Brad Pitt has six children: Maddox 14, Pax 11, Zahara 10, Shiloh 9 and twins Knox and Vivienne who are seven.