Angelina Jolie revealed two of her daughters recently underwent surgery in her new International Women’s Day essay for Time.
Jolie, who shares six children with ex-husband Brad Pitt, revealed that her eldest daughter Zahara, who is 15, has been “in and out of surgeries” for two months for an unspecified issue. A second daughter of Jolie and Pitt, whom Jolie did not name in the essay, recently underwent hip surgery, Jolie wrote.
Jolie’s ex Pitt reportedly missed the BAFTAs earlier this year, where he was nominated for Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood, in order to be with his daughters during their recovery, according to a source for Page Six. Pitt took home the award for Best Supporting Actor, which co-star Margot Robbie accepted on his behalf.
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Jolie said that her daughters “stopped everything and put each other first” following their respective surgeries, and while their brothers were “supportive and sweet,” she wanted to take special note of the young women.
“Someone said to me, when they saw my daughters caring for each other, that ‘it comes naturally to girls.’ I smiled, but then I thought of how often that notion is abused,” Jolie wrote in her Time essay. “The little girl is expected to take care of others. The woman she grows up to be will be expected to give, and care for, and sacrifice. Girls are often conditioned to think that they are good only when they serve others, and selfish or wrong if ever they focus on their own needs and desires.”
She concluded with:
“And my message to girls is, fight on, little ladies. Your care for each other will be a large part of your way forward. Hold your nerve. Know your rights. And never let anyone tell you that you are not precious and special and, above all, equal.”
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