Angelina Jolie is sharing a shocking update on her family. In an essay written for Time magazine in honor of International Women’s Day, she reveals that two of the six children she shares with her ex Brad Pitt have had surgery.
She writes: "I have spent the last two months in and out of surgeries with my eldest daughter [15-year-old Zahara], and days ago watched her younger sister go under the knife for a hip surgery. They know that I am writing this, because I respect their privacy and we discussed it together and they encouraged me to write. They understand that going through medical challenges and fighting to survive and heal is something to be proud of."
Jolie did not name names, but the other daughter must have been either Shiloh, 13, or Vivienne, 11. Jolie and Pitt also share Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, and Knox, 11.
She continues: "I have watched my daughters care for one another. My youngest daughter studied the nurses with her sister, and then assisted the next time. I saw how all my girls so easily stopped everything and put each other first, and felt the joy of being of service to those they love."
Jolie writes: "I also watched them face their fears with a resolute bravery. We all know that moment when no one else can help us, and all we can do is close our eyes and breathe. When only we can take the next step or breathe through the pain, so we steady ourselves and do it. Their brothers were there for them, supportive and sweet. But on this International Women’s Day, writing from the hospital, I find myself focusing on my daughters for a moment, and all that I have learned from them and other young girls I have met around the world."
In November, Jolie told Harper’s Bazaar that her kids have “been through a lot.”
"The part of us that is free, wild, open, curious can get shut down by life. By pain or by harm. My children know my true self, and they have helped me to find it again and to embrace it," she said at the time. "They have been through a lot. I learn from their strength. As parents, we encourage our kids to embrace all that they are, and all that they know in their hearts to be right, and they look back at us and want the same for us."