Zahara Jolie-Pitt seems to be quietly but noticeably moving away from her father’s surname, similar to many of her siblings.
This past weekend, the 21-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt celebrated her graduation from Spelman College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. However, it wasn’t just the graduation ceremony that drew attention.
As she made her way across the stage, Zahara was introduced as “Zahara Marley Jolie” – omitting the “Pitt” from her name, which isn’t the first instance of her doing so. In 2023, during her induction into the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Zahara also introduced herself as “Zahara Marley Jolie.”
She isn’t the only child of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie distancing herself from the “Pitt” surname. The former couple, who separated in 2016, have six children together: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne.
A 2021 report from Us Weekly indicated that Maddox, the oldest son, also “doesn’t use Pitt as his last name on non-legal documents and prefers Jolie,” according to Page Six.
An insider allegedly mentioned that “Maddox wishes to legally change his last name to Jolie, a move that Angelina has reportedly not supported.”
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s children
Other siblings appear to be taking a similar route in recent years. In 2024, their daughter Vivienne was referred to as “Vivienne Jolie” in the Playbill for the Broadway show The Outsiders, and Shiloh is said to have made the change official after turning 18.
Entertainment Tonight reported that the teenager “hired her own lawyer and covered the costs herself” when she removed “Pitt” from her last name in 2024.
Since the separation, all six kids have apparently grown distant from Pitt to different extents. Nevertheless, Page Six mentioned in 2024 that the actor aspires to eventually “build” stronger bonds with his children as they “mature and lead their own lives.”
Us Weekly subsequently reported that Pitt’s connection with the kids is still “tense” despite his “numerous attempts to reconnect.”
A source revealed to the publication that this situation has “brought him a lot of sorrow” and that he “bears… a significant emotional burden” concerning his family.
