'˜Brangelina' split as actress files for divorce after 10 years with Pitt

The couple, known collectively as Brangelina, married in 2014 after 10 years together.

Robert Offer, Jolie’s lawyer, said she has filed for the dissolution of the marriage “for the health of the family”.

Jolie cited irreconcilable differences in legal documents filed on Monday, the celebrity news website TMZ said.

They first met when they played married spies in Mr And Mrs Smith, when Pitt was still married to Friends star Jennifer Aniston.

Jolie is asking for physical custody of the couple’s six children - Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne, the website claimed.

The Maleficent star is apparently being represented by divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, who helped in her divorce from Billy Bob Thornton and is representing Johnny Depp in his divorce from Amber Heard.

The couple married in private at their chateau in France in 2014.

They had waited for gay marriage to become legal, with Pitt telling Esquire magazine in 2006: “Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able to.”

Their ceremony included all their children, including adopted offspring Maddox, Pax and Zahara and their daughter Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne.

Jolie’s Atelier Versace gown featured dozens of designs from her children’s drawings sewn into the dress and veil and the children served as ring bearers and threw flower petals.

Since Mr And Mrs Smith, the couple have appeared on screen together in By The Sea, a film written and directed by Jolie and produced by Pitt, in which they played a glamorous couple whose marriage is in crisis.

Before they began filming, Jolie told the Radio Times: “It feels a little daunting. We haven’t worked together for 10 years. But all of the reasons why people say we should be scared of it, we feel that’s exactly why we have to do this - because we can. So we’re going to go boldly.”

She added: “It’s going to be interesting. He’s a really great artist, such an interesting artist, and of course he’s the man I love, so I think we’re going to have a great time.”

In May 2013 Jolie had a preventative double mastectomy after tests showed that she carries the BRCA1 cancer gene. She later told the TV Today: “I knew through the surgeries that he was on my side and that this wasn’t something where I was going to feel less of a woman because my husband wasn’t going to let that happen.