Another Blow for Brad Pitt: His Daughter with Angelina Jolie Takes a Dramatic Step
Zahara, the daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, has officially filed to remove the surname “Pitt” from her name. According to documents obtained yesterday, Tuesday, by PEOPLE magazine, the 21-year-old filed a petition for a name change in California Superior Court.
Zahara’s request was submitted on April 28, just days after her brother, 24-year-old Maddox Jolie, also filed to legally remove his father’s surname. Jolie, 51, and Pitt, 62, share six children, Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 20, and the twins Knox and Vivienne, 17.
Zahara, who recently graduated from Spelman College, is now the third child of the former couple to seek the legal removal of the surname “Pitt,” after Maddox and Shiloh. “It is sad to see someone repeatedly publicize his success in alienating the children from the other parent,” said a source close to Pitt.
Zahara has hinted more than once at the possibility of changing her name. Recently, at her graduation ceremony in Atlanta on May 17, her name appeared in the program as “Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt,” but when she was called to the stage to receive her bachelor’s degree in psychology, she was introduced as “Zahara Marley Jolie.” In a video posted in August 2024, she introduced herself: “My name is Zahara Marley Jolie, and I’ve come all the way from the Golden State to the City of Angels, Los Angeles, California.”
Months earlier, in the program for the musical “The Outsiders,” which Vivienne helped produce with her mother, she was credited as “Vivienne Jolie,” not “Vivienne Jolie-Pitt.” At the time, it was not clear whether she had also officially changed her name. In addition, Maddox recently removed the surname Pitt from the credits of his mother’s new film, “Couture.” Shiloh received official approval for a name change in 2024 and now uses the name Shiloh Jolie.
As a reminder, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016, after two years of marriage. Since then, the two have been involved in a lengthy legal battle over custody of their six children. The divorce was finalized in December 2024.
The rift in the family began after an alleged incident on a private plane in September 2016. In legal documents filed by Jolie, she claimed that Pitt verbally and physically attacked her and their children during the flight. According to her, the incident left the children with lasting trauma. Pitt has denied all allegations against him over the years, and U.S. authorities did not file charges against him over the incident. In September 2024, Jolie withdrew the lawsuit she had filed on the matter.
