Brad Pitt's Adopted Daughter Zahara Seeks to Legally Drop His Surname

Zahara, the adopted daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, has formally requested to remove Pitt's surname from her legal name. The court hearing for this request is scheduled for September 28. This move follows years of estrangement between Zahara and her father, stemming from the couple's highly publicized and contentious divorce in 2016. Sources close to Pitt described the situation as a "deliberate alienation" by one parent against the other, resulting in a painful but unsurprising outcome. Zahara would legally change her surname to Jolie if the request is approved.

Zahara is not the first of Pitt and Jolie's children to take such a step; her sister Shiloh changed her surname in 2024. The siblings have distanced themselves from their father amid ongoing family tensions that began during the divorce proceedings, when Jolie sought sole custody of their six children. In May 2021, a private judge ruled that Pitt and Jolie would share joint custody, but now that all six children are over 18, they have the autonomy to decide whether to maintain a relationship with their father.

The strained relationship between Pitt and his children has been a source of sadness and frustration for him, according to insiders. The family drama continues to unfold publicly, highlighting the lasting impact of the divorce on their personal lives.