Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were once hailed as Hollywood’s ‘It’ couple but, one by one, their kids are now filing to drop their father’s last name.
Brad and Angelina first met in 2003 on the set of their blockbuster action movie, Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
In 2014, they wed in a private ceremony at Château Miraval, their family estate in the south of France.
During the former couple’s 12-year relationship, the actors brought up their six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox.
In that time, the kids grew to be just as famous as their parents, thanks to their regular family appearances at red carpet events.
However, when word of Brad and Angelina’s split made headlines in 2016, their ‘private’ lives became even more public.
From citing irreconcilable differences to an alleged dramatic altercation on a private plane, the pair were rarely out of the news.
But in recent times, it’s been less about the Oscar winners and more about their offspring, who have been distancing themselves from Brad.
The latest family drama is that Brad and Angelina’s older children, Zahara, 21, and Maddox, 24, have officially filed to remove ‘Pitt’ from their surname.
According to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, both Zahara — who was adopted by Angelina in 2005 in Ethiopia, and Maddox, who was also adopted by her in Cambodia in 2002 — have published notices of their intentions in the Los Angeles Daily Journal.
Zahara and Maddox were legally adopted by Brad later on.
Both newspaper advertisements, published in June and July, respectively, state that Zahara and Maddox ‘filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows.’
They confirm that Zahara wants to change her name from ‘Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt to Zahara Marley Jolie,’ and that Maddox wants to go by Maddox Chivan Jolie, instead of the double-barreled ‘Jolie-Pitt.’
Rather than being simply a display to publicly distancing from Brad, the adverts are actually a California law requirement.
They allow anyone with an objection to the name change to formally oppose the individual’s decision ahead of the final hearing.
In Zahara and Maddox’s case, these dates are September 24 and September 14.
Have any of the other Jolie-Pitt kids changed their name?
Zahara and Maddox aren’t the only Jolie-Pitt kids to change their name, either formally or informally.
Though it seems that none of them use the name in public, it’s unclear how many of Brad and Angelina’s children have legally filed to drop the name.
For example, 22-year-old Pax, who was adopted in Vietnam in 2007, has not legally filed to change his name (not publicly, anyway).
However, he seems to be the loudest critic of his father, calling him a ‘world-class a******’ in a Father’s Day post.
In 2024, on Shiloh’s 18th birthday, Brad and Angelina’s eldest biological daughter legally petitioned to remove Pitt from her last name. It was later approved by a judge.
According to Entertainment Tonight, she ‘hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself.’
There is no evidence of Vivienne, one of the former couple’s biological twins, legally changing her name either.
However, she served as a production assistant to Angelina on the Broadway musical adaptation The Outsiders and was credited as only Vivienne Jolie.
It also looks like 17-year-old Knox has informally dropped Pitt, too. But again, there’s no evidence it has been done legally yet.
Why are Brad Pitt’s kids dropping his last name?
It all dates back to 2016, when Angelina filed for divorce from Brad — just days after the aforementioned alleged private jet incident.
Angelina claimed that Brad was physically abusive towards her and their children.
She alleged that Brad ‘choked’ one of them and ‘struck’ another in the face.
The incident was investigated by the FBI and Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.
The report stated Angelina had injuries to her back, neck, and hand.
However, Brad denied the allegations, and no further criminal action was taken.