Zahara Jolie-Pitt appears to be continuing a quiet but noticeable move away from her father’s last name, similar to several of her siblings.
Over the weekend, the 21-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. But it wasn’t only her graduation that drew attention.
As she walked across the stage, Zahara was introduced as “Zahara Marley Jolie,” leaving out “Pitt” from her name — and this was not the first time she had done so. In 2023, Zahara also introduced herself as “Zahara Marley Jolie” during her induction into the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
However, she is not the only child of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to distance herself from the “Pitt” surname. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt — who separated in 2016 — share six children together: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne.
According to a 2021 report from Us Weekly, the former couple’s oldest son, Maddox Jolie, also reportedly “doesn’t use Pitt as his last name on non-legal documents and instead uses Jolie,” according to Page Six.
An insider also reportedly claimed that “Maddox wants to legally change his last name to Jolie,” although Angelina was said not to support that decision.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s children
Other siblings also appear to have followed a similar path in recent years. In 2024, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt was listed as “Vivienne Jolie” in the Playbill for the Broadway production of The Outsiders, while Shiloh Jolie-Pitt reportedly made the change official after turning 18.
According to Entertainment Tonight, Shiloh “hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself” when removing “Pitt” from her last name in 2024.
Since the separation, all six children have reportedly become estranged from Pitt to varying degrees. Still, Page Six reported in 2024 that the actor hopes to eventually rebuild stronger relationships with his children as they “get older and have a life of their own.”
Us Weekly later reported that Pitt’s relationship with the children remains “strained,” despite what were described as “several efforts to reconnect.”
An insider told the publication that the situation has “caused him a lot of heartbreak” and that he continues to carry “a deep emotional weight” regarding his family.
