Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s youngest daughter files to drop ‘Pitt’ from last name - The Independent

Vivienne is the fourth of the former Hollywood couple’s children to do so in the last two years BookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarks I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s youngest daughter Vivienne has legally filed to drop Pitt’s surname – becoming their fourth child to do so. One week after turning 18, Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt submitted a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court, and a hearing has been scheduled for 2 November. Multiple media outlets are reporting that the reason is listed as “personal” on court documents. Shiloh, a dancer and the former couple’s first biological child, was the first of the siblings to be granted a name change on their 18th birthday in 2024 and now goes by Shiloh Jolie. Vivienne’s legal filing follows Maddox, 24, and Zahara, 21, taking out newspaper ads to remove the Fight Club actor’s name from their surname earlier this month. Posting a public notice is a necessity under California law if you want to change your name, and court documents obtained by media outlets revealed that both Maddox and Zahara did exactly this four times weekly in June. The ad urged anyone objecting to the name change to send a written opposition before the final hearing, which will take place in September. If no opposition is received, the judge will rule in favour of the motion. The Independent has contacted Pitt, Jolie and the Superior Court of California for comment. Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt filed name change court documents in April, and just weeks later, Zahara’s name was read as Zahara Marley Jolie at her graduation ceremony. Her decision to drop Pitt goes back as early as November 2023, when she introduced herself as simply Zahara Marley Jolie in an introduction video for the Mu Pi chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at her university. Meanwhile, Maddox decided to be called Maddox Jolie in the credits for Angelina’s recent film Couture, on which he worked as an assistant director. Angelina, 51, and Pitt, 62, who split in 2016 after more than a decade together, share six children: Maddox, 24; Pax, 22; Zahara, 21; Shiloh, 20; and twins Knox and Vivienne, 18. The family divide came after a 2016 airplane incident in which Pitt allegedly got into a heated argument with his wife and children. Following an FBI investigation into child abuse allegations after the incident, Pitt was cleared of all charges. However, a detailed account of what allegedly transpired on the private plane was made public record during the pair’s divorce proceedings in 2022. According to the documents, Angelina told investigators that Pitt’s behaviour on a private flight from France to Los Angeles frightened their children, who were between the ages of eight and 15 at the time. The Maleficent actor alleged that Pitt lunged at one of their children and that she had to hold him back “in a choke hold.” She filed for divorce the day after the incident, and it was finalised in 2024. A representative for Pitt denied all the claims, and a source within Pitt’s inner circle said: “It's frustrating to see Brad being painted as some kind of ‘bad person’ when it's far from the truth.” The source added to The Sun that Pitt has “great respect” for his children, arguing that it “speaks volumes that he chooses to keep a dignified silence” about the situation. In 2023, a years-old scathing Father’s Day post, reportedly from Pax’s private Instagram account, emerged in which he reportedly said to his adoptive dad: “Happy Father’s Day to this world class a***hole. You time and time and again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person.” Meanwhile, when Shiloh legally filed to change her name, her lawyer Peter Levine said at the time – in a statement shared with People – that she “made an independent and significant decision following painful events”. In 2025, a source told the Daily Mail that Pitt “holds out hope” that his other children will “one day come around” as “time heals wounds”. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies