Angelina Jolie has opened up about the media scrutiny she has received this year for her dwindling frame.

The A Mighty Heart actress sparked criticism of her appearance following shocking pictures in which she looked painfully thin.

Angie admits that she lost weight following her mother, Marcheline Bertrand’s, death from cancer in January - and was bothered by all the attention devoted to her new bony look.

She tells Grazia magazine: “The thing that’s disturbing is that instead of people saying, ‘This looks like a person that’s actually dealing with something, probably from emotions,’ they say, ‘Does she fit into skinny jeans and look thin?’”

“I want people to understand who I am as a person is not somebody that’s trying to look thin, but just trying to work through a very difficult year.”

Angie adds that she has got through a painful year with the love and support of partner, Brad Pitt.

She says: “He is just a great friend and when my mother passed, he was so great. He sat with me and held [my mother’s] hand.

"After she passed away he spent the night asking me and my brother about our mother and got us to tell funny stories about her.

“He focused on all the love and joy we were fortunate enough to have had. He was extraordinary.”