Why Angelina Joilie removed her ovaries and fallopian tubes this year

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

The actress revealed in March that she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed this year after learning she had a 50% increased risk of getting the cancer. Speaking to Vogue Magazine, she said:

"I feel grounded as a woman. 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."

On her decision to go public with her procedures, she said

“It really connected me to other women. I wish my mom had been able to make those choices." The procedures themselves were, she says, “brutal. It’s hard. "They are not easy surgeries. The ovaries are an easy surgery, but the hormone changes"—she laughs, nods her head—"interesting. We did joke that I had my Monday edit. Tuesday surgery. Wednesday go into menopause. Thursday come back to edit, a little funky with my steps."