Angelina Jolie's daughter wore Louis Zamperini's shoes to Unbroken premiere

Angelina Jolie's daughter Shiloh paid a very special tribute to war hero Louis Zamperini at the Los Angeles premiere of his biopic Unbroken by wearing a pair of his shoes from 1940.

The actress-turned-director stepped behind the camera to bring the late Olympian's life story to the big screen, but she was forced to skip the California premiere last month (Dec14) after she fell ill with chicken pox.

Branding her illness "so absurd", she tells breakfast show Today, "What was even stranger was during the day before, I was trying to do interviews and I kept thinking, 'What's happening to me? (I feel) strange...'"

Jolie called on her husband, Brad Pitt, and three of their six children to step in for her on the red carpet, and the proud mom reveals her kids Maddox, Pax and Shiloh, who wore matching black suits to the event, took on the task in earnest.

She explains, "Of course, what was really fun was my kids took the mantle. They took it very seriously when I said, 'You've got to represent mom, you've got to do this for me.' My kids knew and loved Louis, so I said, 'You've gotta do this for Louis, you gotta get out there', so they were excited about the mission."

And her daughter Shiloh wore a special keepsake of Zamperini's to mark the occasion.

Jolie adds, "She had Louis' shoe (sic) on that he wore in 1940..."