Angelina Jolie Says She Hasn't Felt Like Herself For A Decade As She Reveals Why She Stopped Acting

Angelina Jolie said she hasn't felt like herself in ten years.

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The actor has stepped away from Hollywood's spotlight despite appearing in a few films in recent years, most notably Marvel's Eternals.

Jolie also discussed her mental health in an interview with Vogue, revealing that she had suffered from it and that she currently feels "a bit down."

She told the publication: "I don't feel like I've been myself for a decade, in a way. Which I don't want to get into."

Jolie acknowledged that having children has improved her life but she refrained from going into further detail.

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She and her ex-husband Brad Pitt are parents to twins Knox and Vivienne, 15, Maddox, 22,  Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and Pax, 19.

The mother-of-six said: "I was 26 when I became a mother. My entire life changed. Having children saved me — and taught me to be in this world differently.”

"I think, recently, I would’ve gone under in a much darker way had I not wanted to live for them.”

"They’re better than me because you want your children to be.”

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"Of course, I’m the mother, and hopefully that safe place for them and that stability.”

"But I’m also the one that they laugh at — and I see them taking over so many different aspects of our family.”

According to Jolie, she strives to give her children room to be themselves and to live their own lives.

"My kids would roll their eyes if they were here,” she said, referencing her tattoos.

"I was quite dark when I was young. I was a punk, not the popular kid — going to thrift stores, cutting things up, burning little teeny cigarette holes into things: That was me as a teenager, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

"Maybe that part of me wants to push back.”

"Sometimes the way you dress says, 'Don't mess with me — I've got my armor on'.”

"But I want a woman to feel safe enough that she can be soft."

She added: "I don’t tell the kids how to dress. Even when they were little, I just put things in front of them.”

"Nobody has to go anywhere if they don’t want to, and if they don’t want to dress up, they don’t have to … I want them to be their own people.”

Her experiences have taught her the importance of allowing her children to be themselves, just as she values her own authenticity and individuality.