Actress-director Angelina Jolie, who recently underwent cancer preventative surgery and had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed, feels by overcoming difficulties, one gains strength and maturity.

Jolie, 39, reflected on what she learned from the late Louis Zamperini, a World War II war survivor who was the focus of her directorial venture “Unbroken”, reported Us magazine.

“I do believe in the old saying ‘What does not kill you makes you stronger’. Our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are.

“Like many of the greatest human stories, it is about the capacity of regular men and women to rise above adversity,” Brad Pitt’s wife answered when asked about the greatest lesson she learned from Zamperini’s story.

Jolie named top feminist icon

Angelina Jolie has been named Britain’s top feminist icon.

The 39-year-old actress topped the poll for her campaigning against rape as a weapon of war in her role as United Nations Special Envoy, beating off competition from iconic women’s rights activist Germaine Greer, reports femalefirst.co.uk.