Angelie Jolie says she has taught her daughters that there is nothing more attractive than a woman with an independent mind.
The Hollywood star, 44, is mother to six children, three of whom were adopted internationally, including three daughters.
The actress and activist said she tells them it does not matter how they look as long as have an “independent will” and their “own opinions”.
Speaking to Elle magazine, she said: “I often tell my daughters that the most important thing they can do is to develop their minds.
“You can always put on a pretty dress, but it doesn’t matter what you wear on the outside if your mind isn’t strong.
“There is nothing more attractive — you might even say enchanting — than a woman with an independent will and her own opinions.”
Jolie, who appears on the cover of the magazine’s September issue, reached a custody agreement with ex-husband Brad Pitt last year.
She told the publication the world needed more “wicked women” who refused to follow “rules and codes” that held them back.
She said: “But looking across the world, we have to ask: Why is so much energy expended to keep women in a secondary position?
“Looked at in this light, ‘wicked women’ are just women who are tired of injustice and abuse.
“Women who refuse to follow rules and codes they don’t believe are best for themselves or their families.
“Women who won’t give up on their voice and rights, even at the risk of death or imprisonment or rejection by their families and communities.
“If that is wickedness, then the world needs more wicked women.”
Read more in the September issue of Elle, out on Thursday August 8.