Zahara Jolie Officially Drops 'Pitt' From Her Name — Making Her The Third Of Brad And Angelina's Kids To Do So

She walked across the graduation stage at Spelman College last month as Zahara Marley Jolie — and now she's making it official. Court documents obtained by People magazine confirm that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's 21-year-old daughter Zahara filed a petition at the Superior Court of California on 28 April to legally remove "Pitt" from her surname. The move makes her the third of the former couple's six children to take that step.

Zahara isn't alone. Her eldest brother Maddox Chivan Jolie, 24, had his own name change finalised in May, listing the reason as simply "personal". He had been adopted by Angelina in 2002 and later by Brad in 2006. Zahara filed her petition just days after Maddox submitted his, and the timing feels anything but coincidental.

Shiloh, now 19, had already legally dropped the Pitt surname after turning 18 in 2024. Her lawyer, Peter Levine, offered a rare public statement on the decision, telling People that Shiloh made an independent and significant decision following painful events.

Meanwhile, youngest daughter Vivienne — Zahara's twin brother Knox's co-twin — chose to be credited simply as "Vivienne Jolie" in the playbill for the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of The Outsiders in 2024, which she worked on alongside her mother. That now means four of Brad and Angelina's six children have publicly distanced themselves from their father's name in some form. Sons Pax and Knox have yet to indicate whether they intend to do the same.

For those paying attention, the writing had been on the wall for some time. Zahara introduced herself as Zahara Marley Jolie when she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at Spelman College back in November 2023 — well before her April court filing. Similarly, Maddox was credited as Maddox Jolie while working as an assistant producer on his mother's film Couture.

None of the children have publicly spoken about their decisions, but the moves follow their parents' lengthy and at times deeply acrimonious divorce. Angelina filed for divorce in 2016, and the settlement wasn't finalised until December 2024 — a drawn-out eight-year battle that played out very publicly.

The backdrop to all of this is deeply serious. Central to the divorce proceedings were Jolie's allegations of abusive behaviour during a private flight to France in 2016. According to court documents, she alleged that Pitt attacked her and one of their children on the aircraft — claims that included allegations he choked one child, struck another in the face, grabbed Jolie by the head and pushed her into a bathroom wall, and poured beer over her and the children. Pitt has denied all of the allegations. Criminal charges were never pursued.

When Brad was asked about the conclusion of the divorce during a recent GQ interview, his response was notably understated.

Since the split, Pitt has moved on with girlfriend Ines de Ramon, whom he began dating in 2022. The pair made their first public appearance together at the British Grand Prix in 2024. Angelina, meanwhile, has remained focused on her work and her children — several of whom have now chosen, in the most formal way possible, to carry only her name forward.