Two of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s six children have taken a significant step toward distancing themselves from their famous father.
Their adopted daughter, 21-year-old Zahara, and adopted son, 24-year-old Maddox, have published newspaper advertisements announcing their intention to drop “Pitt” from their surnames, per court documents.
The move came after both had used their mother’s surname in their academic and creative endeavors for years.
“Do what you need to do, but don’t publicly smear your dad,” a netizen advised.
However, they were quickly informed that the advertisements were a requirement of California state law for those seeking a legal name change.
Zahara and Maddox took legal steps to drop Brad Pitt’s surname
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Petitioners must publish an Order to Show Cause, which is a formal court notice informing the public of the requested name change and giving anyone the chance to object, for four consecutive weeks before their court date.
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Zahara’s ad ran in the Los Angeles Daily on June 16, June 23, June 30, and July 7.
Maddox’s ad, meanwhile, was published in the same paper on June 10, June 17, June 24, and July 1.
They have requested Zahara Marley Jolie and Maddox Chivan Jolie as their future names.
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Zahara had stopped using “Pitt” three years ago when she joined a sorority at Spelman College.
She introduced herself to her sisters by her proposed name, describing her home state as the “Golden State” and her city as “the city full of angels.”
She also went by the same name during her graduation ceremony, which her father skipped, per TMZ.
Maddox presented himself as just Maddox Jolie while working as a production assistant on his mother’s latest project, Maria.
Vivienne and Shiloh, Pitt’s biological kids, have also dropped his last name
Vivienne, 18, was credited as Vivienne Jolie instead of Vivienne Jolie Pitt on her Playbill for the Broadway musical The Outsiders in May 2024.
Shiloh, born Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, shortened her name to Shiloh Jolie shortly after turning 18 in August 2024.
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At the time, in a statement shared with People, her lawyer Peter Levine said she “made an independent and significant decision following painful events.”
Though the attorney did not disclose what the events were, it remains widely reported that she, alongside her siblings, witnessed a violent altercation between their mom and dad in 2016.
Pitt was investigated for domestic violence, but no charges against him were filed.
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Pax, 22, in a 2020 Father’s Day post, blasted the actor as a “world-class a**hole,” accusing him of making his brothers and sisters “tremble in fear.”
A month after Shiloh filed to drop her father’s last name, a source said that Pitt’s relationship with his children remains strained.
“He has virtually no contact with the adult kids. His engagement with the young kids has been more limited in recent months because of his filming schedule,” they said.
A source claimed Pitt has no plans to reconcile with some children, while hoping to rebuild ties with others
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“He has zero concern about what Pax does or doesn’t do. Brad Pitt considers his relationship with Pax unfixable,” an insider told the Daily Mail in June 2025.
The response was in relation to a picture of Pax stumbling out of the iconic West Hollywood hotel Chateau Marmont, propped up by several friends.
The source went on to say Pitt’s relationship with Maddox was also over.
“Both of them have abundantly made it clear how they feel, and Brad has nothing to say about either of them.”
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As for his other children, the source said that Pitt “holds out hope that they will one day come around as time heals wounds.”
A source close to Jolie hit back at Pitt at the time, accusing him of playing the “victim.”
“His fractured relationship with his children is a direct result of how he has treated them. If he wants to rebuild a relationship with the kids, he should acknowledge his own actions and make amends,” they said.
Netizens accused Angelina Jolie of turning the children against their father
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