Yet another of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s children has legally moved to distance herself from the Oscar-winning actor’s surname.
21-year-old Zahara Jolie-Pitt has officially dropped “Pitt” from her last name after a Los Angeles judge approved her legal name-change petition.
The move comes nearly two years after Jolie and Pitt finalized their nearly decade-long divorce battle, while the former couple remains embroiled in a legal dispute over their French winery, Château Miraval.
Highlights
- Zahara Jolie-Pitt has officially filed to remove "Pitt" from her legal name, becoming the latest sibling to do so.
- The legal move has reignited Zahara’s over-a-decade-long estrangement from her father and their years-long lack of contact.
- Zahara’s legal move mirrors a decision her mother made decades ago following her own family estrangement.
One netizen reacted, “At this point, Brad should drop his last name and just be known as ‘Brad.’ It’s a shame when fathers can’t do their job right.”
Zahara had already dropped “Pitt” from her name at her college graduation months before making it official recently
Zahara’s decision to leave “Pitt” out of her name first drew attention as the psychology graduate celebrated earning her Bachelor of Arts from Spelman College in Atlanta in May 2026.
While the official commencement program still identified her as Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, the name announced as she crossed the stage was “Zahara Marley Jolie.”
That detail became even more significant after she formally filed to change her name in June.
It was not even the first time Zahara had publicly used Jolie without Pitt.
In 2023, while being inducted into Spelman’s Mu Pi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, she introduced herself using the name Zahara Marley Jolie.
So Zahara’s legal name change wasn't an overnight decision.
She began the formal process in 2026, filing a petition reportedly citing personal reasons for the request.
Zahara is the latest Jolie-Pitt sibling, joining Shiloh, Maddox, and Vivienne in dropping their father’s famous surname
As part of the California legal process, the court published notice of the proposed change, giving anyone who wished to object an opportunity to do so.
The notices appeared in the Los Angeles Daily Journal over several weeks.
PEOPLE, which reviewed the court documents, reported that no objections were filed against Zahara’s request.
As a result, the judge formally approved the petition at the September 28 hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Born in Ethiopia in January 2005, Zahara was adopted by Angelina later that year.
Pitt soon became part of the adoption story.
In early 2006, a California judge approved a legal name change for Zahara, changing her surname from Jolie to Jolie-Pitt as Pitt Brad formally adopted her.
Zahara grew up as one of six children in the Jolie-Pitt family, alongside Maddox, Pax, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne.
Zahara’s complicated family history with Brad Pitt began when she was adopted by Angelina Jolie as a baby in 2005
The family dynamic changed dramatically after Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016.
The split followed a private-plane incident involving the family that became the subject of investigations and years of public discussion.
The former couple subsequently spent years dealing with divorce, custody, and other legal disputes before reaching a divorce settlement in 2024.
Zahara’s decision also comes as several of her siblings have made similar choices regarding the family surname.
Shiloh was the first sibling to make the change legally.
She filed her petition shortly after turning 18 in May 2024, and her request was approved later that year, making her legally known as Shiloh Jolie.
Maddox followed this year. The 25-year-old filed his own petition in May, and a Los Angeles judge approved it on September 14, changing his legal name from Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt to Maddox Chivan Jolie.
The situation has reignited Angelina Jolie’s own decision to drop her famous father Jon Voight’s surname after their estrangement
Vivienne has also filed a petition to change her name, proposing Vivienne Marcheline Jolie.
Her hearing is reportedly scheduled for November.
Zahara’s latest move has also prompted comparisons to Angelina herself, who famously went through a similar process decades earlier.
In 2002, the Maleficent star legally dropped “Voight” from her own name, changing it from Angelina Jolie Voight to Angelina Jolie after years of estrangement from her father, actor Jon Voight.
Many observers have pointed to the striking similarities between mother and daughter, noting that both women chose to legally separate themselves from their famous fathers’ surnames following deeply strained relationships.
One social media user wrote, “Angelina did the same thing herself. Dropped her dad's last name and kept her mother's. Pattern much?”
While none of the siblings have publicly detailed their reasons beyond what appears in the court documents, each has chosen to make the change after becoming legally old enough to do so independently.
“He's her adopted father. She didn't have his name before Brangelina, so why keep it now if she doesn't want it,” one netizen wrote
