Angelina Jolie says she hasn't felt like herself for a decade as she reveals why she stopped acting

Angelina Jolie says she's 'not felt herself in a decade'.

While she's been in a handful of movies in recent years, most notably Marvel's Eternals, the actor has stepped back from Hollywood's lime light.

And in an interview with Vogue, Jolie opened up about her mental health, which she said she has struggled with, admitting that she feels a 'bit down these days'.

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."

While she declined to go into further detail, Jolie admitted that becoming a mother had changed her life for the better.

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She shares Maddox, 22, Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15, with ex-husband Brad Pitt.

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.

"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.”

Jolie says that she tries to let her kids be themselves and lead their own lives.

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"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.”