She tried to 'put on a brave face' [=she tried to appear brave or calm] despite the pain of the injury.
You can refuse to talk to her if you like, but you're just 'cutting off your nose to spite your face'.
They made it on time 'in spite of the fact' that they got a flat tire.
(..) for this platform anyway. So you're, like, nine or ten foot tall. GOBLIN : Yeah! In spite of the gross repellant appearance of the King of the Goblins... ...he's a highly intelligent man. No tricks. I want the truth, warts and all. Something quite Kiwi about him, in a way. (..)2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey