It’s not often we are #blessed with an Angelina Jolie interview, so when a full-length feature with her appeared in the papers this weekend, it’s a bit like Christmas had come early.

But alongside some cute stories about her brood of kids, Angie also revealed just how traumatic the past two years have been for her. While in the editing suite for her film By The Sea, she was given the news that she was highly likely to develop cancer, so she elected to have a double mastectomy and had surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes.

But thankfully, after that dark time, she told The Observer she feels in a better place now: “Your emotions adjust a bit. I feel matured in a way that I’m happy about. I’m at this other stage in my life – and it’s not a bad thing at all.”

And after turning 40 in July, she says her perspective on life has understandably changed, and finds herself: “Being in the everyday. Staying still…I’m a bit on fire, inside.”

A dedicated humanitarian for the UN, she also revealed how she’s raising her kids to take an interest in social and global issues. She says “Well, Pax and Shiloh have shown a real interest in humanitarian projects. Shiloh has asked me to come to refugee camps – she always knows when I’m doing an op-ed or speaking. But they’re all aware of the news. They’re very aware of why Mommy gets in a plane. Pax recently came to Burma with me.

“But I’m trying not to push it. If you push it, it’s like I want to make them humanitarians – which I don’t. I’m just trying to make them all aware of the world. I want them to take the time to go out of their borders and comfort zones – to live a bolder life, do things they might not have thought to try. As a parent that’s the best gift you can give.”

She also revealed what life is like now her and Brad Pitt are finally married, and admitted like any couple they have their ups and downs: “Sometimes it just gets absurd. Honestly, you have to laugh at the absurdity sometimes! But I think if you’re both strong-minded people, you push up against each other. That’s part of what’s great about marriage: you want strong dynamics. And fortunately, we have so many children, that whatever our individual thoughts are…You know, we’re all figuring it out as we go.”

She’s got to be in line for mum of the year…