Two of Brad Pitt's children, Zahara and Maddox, have taken a significant step in distancing themselves from their famous father by publishing notices to drop his last name in court documents.
Zahara and Maddox, who are among the six children of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, have both filed petitions to change their names, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail. Zahara, who was previously known as Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, has now published a notice revealing her intention to drop 'Pitt' from her last name, while Maddox, who was previously known as Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt, has also filed to change his name to Maddox Chivan Jolie.
This move is not the first instance of Brad Pitt's children dropping his last name. Shiloh, his daughter, legally changed her name to Shiloh Jolie in 2022, shortly after turning 18. Vivienne, his other daughter, was also credited as Vivienne Jolie, not Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, on the playbill for the Broadway musical The Outsiders in May 2024. The family divide was brought to the forefront when Pitt's mother, Jane Etta Pitt, died last year at the age of 84, with sources revealing that she had been cut off from her grandchildren for about nine years.
It's worth noting that Brad Pitt's relationship with his children, particularly his adult children, has been strained in recent years. Sources close to the family have revealed that Pitt has virtually no contact with his adult children, while his engagement with his younger children is more limited due to his filming schedule. The family dynamics have been further complicated by the children's own actions, with Pax, Pitt's adopted son, previously calling his father a 'world-class a**hole' and accusing him of making his younger siblings 'tremble in fear'.
The court documents obtained by the Daily Mail show that Zahara and Maddox's names will be changed to Zahara Marley Jolie and Maddox Chivan Jolie, respectively, if no one objects to the name changes. The notices invite dissenting parties to appear at a scheduled hearing over the matter, with Zahara's hearing scheduled for September 28 and Maddox's hearing on September 14. In the state of California, those seeking to legally change their name must publish an Order to Show Cause – a document requesting the name change – for four weeks in a row in a newspaper before their court date.
Source: Daily Mail
