The Oscar-winning actress has written about her decision in an opinion piece for the New York Times.

She also had a double mastectomy in 2013 after it was found she had the faulty BRCA1 gene, which sharply increased the chance of her developing breast and ovarian cancer.

Jolie, who is married to actor Brad Pitt and has six children, also wrote about her decision to have that surgery.

She says she decided to have her ovaries removed last week when doctors told her that "a number of inflammatory markers ... are elevated, and taken together they could be a sign of early cancer."

She writes: "I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt.

"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.

"I called my husband in France, who was on a plane within hours.

"The beautiful thing about such moments in life is that there is so much clarity. You know what you live for and what matters. It is polarizing, and it is peaceful."

Jolie's mother Marcheline Bertrand died in 2007 after fighting cancer for 10 years.

In the piece, entitled Diary of a Surgery, she writes about the history of cancer in her family.

"In my case, the Eastern and Western doctors I met agreed that surgery to remove my tubes and ovaries was the best option, because on top of the BRCA gene, three women in my family have died from cancer," she writes.

"My doctors indicated I should have preventive surgery about a decade before the earliest onset of cancer in my female relatives.

"My mother’s ovarian cancer was diagnosed when she was 49. I’m 39."