Angelina Jolie addresses her divorce from Brad Pitt for the first time

The star praised the bravery of her children

After more than ten years together, news of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's split broke last September - and since then, both parties have kept a relatively low profile - maintaining a dignified silence, or using a carefully chosen spokesperson to deliver a statement on their behalf.

But for the first time since the announcement, Angelina has directly addressed her divorce in a new interview. She had previously spoken about how her family was coping with the separation, but at the time said she didn't want to 'say very much about it'.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, the actress and philanthropist explained how she is very proud of her children. 'They're six very strong-minded, thoughtful, worldly individuals. I'm very proud of them.

'They've been very brave. They were very brave.'

Angelina and Brad have six children together: Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 11, and twins Vivienne and Knox, who have just celebrated their ninth birthday.

The star also admitted she has suffered from Bell's Palsy, a form of face paralysis, since the split, adding that her children were brave 'when they needed to be.'

She went on: 'We're all just healing from the events that led to the filing ... They're not healing from divorce. They're healing from some... from life, from things in life.'

Angelina did not discuss what those events were in more detail.