Vivienne Jolie, 18, has revealed she was hospitalized for an eating disorder earlier this year, sharing the private health battle in a statement displayed at her Los Angeles art exhibition.
The teenager made the disclosure in a deeply personal written statement titled “The Tulip Field” that accompanied her paintings at the show, which ran from Nov. 2 through Nov. 8 at Forager Crafts in Los Angeles. She had promoted the exhibition on Instagram on Oct. 21, sharing a colorful poster featuring a drawing of a flower holding a telephone with the caption, “Hope to see you there:).”
“Like many, I have struggled with mental health. I have also struggled with an eating disorder,” Vivienne wrote in the statement. “At the beginning of this year, I was hospitalized for my ED. I was angry, sick, and very alone.”
The daughter of Angelina Jolie, 49, and Brad Pitt, 61, explained that she eventually found unexpected support from fellow patients and hospital staff during her stay. “Eventually, however, the kindness and warmth of the kids and staff at the hospital broke down the walls I had built so high,” she wrote. “I have never laughed or cried harder, never been more honest or more myself.”
Vivienne credited the other young patients with teaching her resilience during what she described as the most difficult period of her life. “The other kids there taught me how to be strong when you are at your weakest,” she shared. “It was the worst and best time of my life and I am better for it.”
She disclosed that she had nicknamed the hospital “The Tulip Field” and used that name for her exhibition, which she said represented memories from her time there. “Moments of hopelessness, moments I couldn’t stop laughing, moments of safety, moments of bravery,” she wrote.
The teenager noted that no photographs were taken during her hospitalization, making her paintings a way to preserve shared memories with other patients. “There are of course no photographs of our time at the Tulip Field so these are our memories, our purest memories, preserved,” she wrote.
Vivienne also revealed that her painting titles were drawn directly from journal entries she kept during her hospital stay. One piece, titled “Vitals,” featured a handwritten note dated May 14, reading, “I feel guilty for needing to be in the hospital this long.” Another painting showed two flowers beneath a star with the message, “We all went to the deck last night.” A third work, “Room Check,” depicted a flower behind a grid-like window alongside a journal entry describing feelings of bewilderment and sensitivity.
The emotional revelation marked a rare public glimpse into Vivienne’s private life, which she has largely kept out of the spotlight despite her famous parentage. The exhibition came just days after she made headlines for legally dropping Pitt from her last name, a court granting her request earlier this month. She had previously removed the surname professionally, credited as Vivienne Jolie in the Playbill for Broadway’s “The Outsiders,” which she helped produce alongside her mother.
Several of the former couple’s children have distanced themselves from the Pitt surname in recent years. Shiloh, 20, legally changed her name in 2024, while Zahara, 21, publicly introduced herself as Zahara Marley Jolie when she joined a sorority at Spelman College in 2023. Jolie and Pitt, who separated in 2016 after two years of marriage, also share Maddox, 25, Pax, 22, and Vivienne’s twin brother, Knox.
A source close to the family said that Vivienne found the public disclosure challenging but worthwhile. “It took a lot of strength and courage for Vivienne to open up about something so personal, but she’s so glad she did,” the source said. “It wasn’t easy putting herself out there, but if sharing her story helps even one person feel less alone or gives them the courage to reach out and get the help they need, then it was worth it. That’s what matters most to her.”
