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Jolie, 39, wrote opinion piece in New York Times about her health crisis
Star revealed she's in menopause after having her ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed last week and will not be able to have more children
A blood test had raised fears that she was in the early stages of cancer
Mother-of-six revealed she and Brad went through an agonizing five day wait before she was given the all-clear
Scare prompted her to undergo surgery last week, days after loving Brad was pictured kissing and comforting her in public

By Snejana Farberov and Anna Hodgekiss and Chris Johnson For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:26 EST, 24 March 2015 | Updated: 17:26 EST, 24 March 2015

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Angelina Jolie is seen here for the first time since revealing that she underwent surgery last week to remove her ovaries.

The 39-year-old actress, who has gone into early menopause as a result of the procedure, was pictured in the passenger seat of a car, being chauffeur driven out of her family compound in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Jolie was wearing a pair of shades and clutching onto a bottle of water and was pictured leaving her house this morning.

On Monday night, an article by the Maleficent star was published on the New York Times website where she detailed her decision to undergo an operation to remove her ovaries in the wake of a cancer scare.

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Brave face: Angelina Jolie was pictured leaving her Los Angeles home on Tuesday morning, just hours after revealing that she underwent surgery last week to have her ovaries removed

Chauffeur driven: The actress was in the passenger seat of a car and was clutching a bottle of water and wearing a pair of shades

In the deeply personal piece she explained how she would no longer be able to bear children and said that as a result of the operation she was warned to expect 'physical changes' regardless of the hormone replacements she is taking.

The article, titled Angelina Jolie Pitt: Diary Of A Surgery, comes two years after she published an op-ed detailing her decision to have a double mastectomy to prevent the onset of breast cancer.

Her revelations come after Brad Pitt was seen comforting his wife at Shiloh and Zahara's soccer match. It's now clear the couple's affection came during Angelina's agonizing wait to establish whether she had cancer - a fear which ultimately prompted her to have the latest surgery.

With her ovaries and Fallopian tubes now gone, the mother-of-six has entered early menopause and will not be able to have any more children, she writes in her candid essay.

Tough choice: Angelina and Brad were pictured at Shiloh and Zahara's soccer match on March 15 - Angelina was weighing her surgery decision at this time

Signs of support: The famous couple shared a rare public kiss at the game - it's now clear it was a time of turmoil while Angelina feared she had cancer and was contemplating surgery

Loving: Angelina reveals in her op-ed that Brad flew from France immediately after hearing his wife was at risk of cancer

In May 2013, Brad Pitt's wife famously had her breasts surgically removed after she found out she was carrying a genetic mutation that greatly increased her risk of potentially fatal breast cancer.

In the op-ed piece, Jolie explains that the mutation in the BRCA1 gene gave her an estimated 87 per cent risk of breast cancer and 50 per cent risk of ovarian cancer.

The director of Unbroken and the upcoming By The Sea, starring her newlywed husband, lost her mother, grandmother and aunt to cancer.

According to Jolie, she had been planning to undergo surgery to remove her ovaries and Fallopian tubes for a while now, but a call from her doctor two weeks ago made the procedure more urgent.

A blood test detected potential anomalies linked to the protein CA-125, which is used to monitor ovarian cancer, Jolie's doctor told her, urging the actress to see her surgeon, who also had treated her late mother.

'I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt,' she writes.

'I told myself to stay calm, to be strong, and that I had no reason to think I wouldn't live to see my children grow up and to meet my grandchildren.'

Dr Carol Brown on Angelina Jolie having ovaries removed

Survivor: In May 2013, the star of Maleficent had a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer. Jolie is pictured left at a World War Z premiere in June of that year, just weeks after the surgery and right in Iraq in her work for the UN in January

Runs in the family: Jolie pictured with her mother Marcheline Bertrand, who died in January 2007 at the age of 56 after an eight-year battle with ovarian cancer

Angelina Jolie's doctor on star's decision for double mastectomy

Brad Pitt was in France when he got the call from his wife of seven months about her new health scare, prompting him to hop on a plane and return at once to Los Angeles to be by her side.

After undergoing a battery of tests and scans, Jolie got the good news that she was still cancer-free.

'To my relief, I still had the option of removing my ovaries and Fallopian tubes and I chose to do it,' she writes.

Cover girl: Jolie graced the cover of the May 2013 issue of Time magazine, which featured an article about her decision to undergo a double mastectomy

Last week, Hollywood's leading lady went under the knife, undergoing what is known as a laparoscopic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.

Jolie revealed that one of her ovaries did have a small tumor on it but it turned out to be benign, and there were no signs of cancer in the tissues.

She noted that she chose to keep her uterus because there is no history of uterine cancer in her family.

Her mother Marcheline Bertrand died in January 2007 at the age of 56 after an eight-year battle with ovarian cancer.

Jolie has previously spoken of the void in her life that her mother's death had left - a pain that led her to taking the brave decision to have a double mastectomy, so her children may not have to experience the pain she did.

The actress's aunt, Debbie Martin, then died of breast cancer at the age of 61 less than two weeks after Jolie revealed she had undergone her mastectomy.

To counteract the loss of her ovaries, Jolie turned to hormone replacement therapy and had a device inserted in her womb, but she says in the essay that her child-bearing years are now behind her.

'Regardless of the hormone replacements I'm taking, I am now in menopause,' she writes. 'I will not be able to have any more children, and I expect some physical changes. But I feel at ease with whatever will come, not because I am strong but because this is a part of life. It is nothing to be feared.'

When Jolie underwent a double mastectomy two years ago, doctors have noticed an uptick in patients electing to undergo the preventive surgery - even if they did not need it.

A sigh of relief: Jolie said it gives her peace of mind that her children, including (L-R) Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Knox Jolie-Pitt, Pax Jolie-Pitt and Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, will never have to say, 'Mom died of ovarian cancer'

Angelina Jolie announced double mastectomy in 2013

In her op-ed piece Monday, the UN envoy made it clear that her decision to have her ovaries removed was not solely based on the BRCA1 gene mutation, adding that there are other, non-surgical options out there for women, such as birth control pills, alternative treatments and frequent checks-up.

But taking into account her family's history, Jolie said undergoing the operation was the best option for her.

'There is more than one way to deal with any health issue,' she states in the Times piece. 'The most important thing is to learn about the options and choose what is right for you personally.'

Mrs Jolie Pitt points out that surgery has not eliminated her natural predisposition for cancer, but it has taken at least one type of the deadly disease out of the equation.

'I know my children will never have to say, 'Mom died of ovarian cancer'," she writes.

KILLER GENES: HOW MUTATIONS CAN GIVE WOMEN A 90% RISK OF CANCER

Angelina Jolie has had her ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed to prevent the onset of cancer

Angelina Jolie has a mutation in the BRCA1 gene that gave her an estimated 87 per cent risk of breast cancer and 50 per cent risk of ovarian cancer.

Her mother died from the latter at the age of just 56.

Being a carrier of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene gives a woman a 45-90 per cent lifetime risk of cancer.

These genes also increase breast cancer risk in men.

As many as 65 per cent of women who carry the BRCA1 or 2 genes will get ovarian cancer by the age of 75.

As a result of this gene mutation, Ms Jolie had her breasts surgically removed in May 2013 and has now had her ovaries removed.

The procedure, called an oophorectomy, can also reduce the risk of breast cancer in these patients by up to 50 per cent.

While the surgery has not eliminated her natural predisposition for cancer, it has taken ovarian cancer out of the equation.

However the operation triggers menopause immediately. A woman's periods will stop after this surgery and her hormones drop quickly.

She may immediately have strong menopausal symptoms, such as hot flushes and reduced sexual desire.

To counteract the loss of her ovaries and the symptoms of the menopause, Ms Jolie is now taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Leila Hanna, Consultant Gynaecologist and Obstetrician at Queen Mary's Hospital in London and BMI The Sloane Hospital, told MailOnline that Jolie, 39, would be on two forms of hormone replacement therapy 'at least until her mid-50s'.

She said: 'She will have had an IUS inserted into her womb. This is a small, T-shaped plastic device that releases the progesterone hormone.

'She will also be given the hormone oestrogen in either patch, gel or tablet form,' she added.

Removing your ovaries may reduce the risk of cancer but can spark another set of health problems such as an increased risk of heart disease and fragile bones

Leila Hanna, Consultant Gynaecologist and Obstetrician at Queen Mary's Hospital in London

'Because this treatment is replacing the hormones produced by the ovaries, it staves off problems associated with the menopause.'

After the menopause, the lack of the hormone oestrogen puts women at increased risk of fragile bones and heart disease.

The skin also loses its elasticity and women may experience depression and/or reduced sexual desire.

In the New York Times piece, she explains she had been planning to undergo the surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes for some time, but a call from her doctor two weeks ago made the procedure more urgent.

A blood test detected potential anomalies linked to the protein CA-125, high levels of which can indicate ovarian cancer.

She revealed that one of her ovaries did have a small tumour on it but it turned out to be benign, and there were no signs of cancer in the tissues.

However Miss Hanna cautioned that while Jolie had opted for the radical surgery, it is not the solution for everyone carrying a BRCA gene.

She added: 'There is a fine balance when it comes to removing the ovaries of young people.

'There are many reasons other than ovarian cancer why levels of the CA-125 protein level may be raised - such as the condition endometriosis or a benign ovarian swelling.

'Simply having a raised CA-125 is not reason enough for young women to have their ovaries removed.

'This surgery triggers immediate menopause and can result in women developing hot flashes literally overnight.

'You may reduce the risk of cancer but spark another set of health problems such as an increased risk of heart disease and fragile bones,' she explained.