Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s eldest daughter, Zahara, has reportedly taken legal steps to alter her name following her parents’ divorce.
The move follows reports that her older brother, Maddox, also chose to remove ‘Pitt’ from his surname, making Zahara the latest of the former couple’s children to distance themselves publicly from their father’s last name.
According to court documents cited by multiple outlets on 9 June, Zahara filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court on 4 June requesting to legally change her name from Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt to Zahara Marley Jolie. The paperwork was reportedly signed on 28 April, just weeks before her college graduation.
Her plans appeared to be reflected publicly last month when the 21-year-old graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta on 17 May with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and was introduced on stage as ‘Zahara Marley Jolie’.
Although it has not yet been confirmed whether the petition has been approved, the graduation announcement suggests Zahara has already begun using a version of her name without her father’s surname. She had also previously used ‘Zahara Marley Jolie’ in 2023 when she introduced herself during her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority induction at Spelman.
Jolie and Pitt share six children: Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 20, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 17. Of their adult children, Pax is the only one who has not been reported to have dropped ‘Pitt’ from his name.
Zahara was adopted by Jolie from Ethiopia in 2005, and Pitt later adopted her after he and Jolie became a couple. Their children originally used the hyphenated Jolie-Pitt surname, but several have since chosen to use Jolie publicly, professionally or legally.
The former couple, often referred to as ‘Brangelina,’ separated in 2016, before their lengthy and highly publicised divorce proceedings finally concluded in December 2024.
The Mr & Mrs Smith actors first met while working on the 2004 film and went on to become one of Hollywood’s most talked-about couples. They married in 2014 after years together, but Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016.
But after Jolie filed for divorce, the split developed into a prolonged legal dispute, with both sides facing intense public scrutiny and a series of allegations. Jolie has alleged in court filings that Pitt physically abused her and their children during a 2016 private jet flight; Pitt has denied allegations of abuse, and no criminal charges were brought after investigations at the time.
While their divorce settlement ended one major part of the legal battle, it did not resolve every dispute between the pair, including ongoing litigation connected to Château Miraval, the French winery and estate where they married.
As their children grow older and begin making their own public and professional moves, several appear to be choosing to use Jolie’s surname instead.
That includes Shiloh.
Shiloh, who has also used the creative name Shi Joli, legally dropped ‘Pitt’ in 2024 after filing a petition on her 18th birthday. A Los Angeles court later granted the request, making her legal name Shiloh Nouvel Jolie.
Shi, as she now goes by, recently attended a dinner for Hollywood guests celebrating Isabel Marant’s new capsule collection with Net-A-Porter.
At the event, Shiloh presented a choreographed dance routine under her new name, performing alongside dancers Keoni Rose and Tako Suzuki as Luella delivered a live rendition of her new single ‘Naïve’.
While many people online have supported Shiloh’s name change, others have suggested it may be a public statement about her parents’ divorce.
However, her lawyer has denied that interpretation.
Peter Levine said, as per PEOPLE: “Shiloh Jolie did not take out an ‘ad’ announcing any name change, and any press reporting that is inaccurate.
“As Shiloh’s attorney, I am required to publish a legal notice because the law in California requires that of anyone who wants to change their name. That legal notice was published in the Los Angeles Times, as is required.”
Vivienne has also been credited without ‘Pitt’ in public-facing work. In 2024, she was listed as Vivienne Jolie in the Playbill for Broadway’s The Outsiders, which Jolie helped produce and on which Vivienne worked as a producer’s assistant. It has not been reported that Vivienne has made a legal name change.
Maddox, meanwhile, was credited as Maddox Jolie on his mother’s film Couture earlier this year, and later reports said he had filed paperwork to legally remove ‘Pitt’ from his name.
So far, Shiloh has legally changed her name, while Maddox and Zahara have reportedly filed to do the same. Zahara and Vivienne have also used Jolie without Pitt in public settings, leaving several of the Jolie-Pitt children moving away from their father’s surname in different ways.