Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, the 21-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, has filed a legal petition to officially drop her father's surname, according to reports. The notice was published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal across four issues between June 16 and July 7, as required by California law. A judge is expected to approve the request on September 28, barring any objections.
Legal Steps and Family Context
Zahara's petition follows a similar move by her older brother Maddox, who filed to change his name to Maddox Chivan Jolie, with a hearing set for September 14. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt completed the same process in 2024. The siblings have increasingly used the surname Jolie in public settings: Zahara was listed as Zahara Marley Jolie at her Spelman College commencement in May, and Vivienne was billed as Vivienne Jolie in the 2024 Broadway playbill for The Outsiders. Knox also used Knox Jolie on his diploma from Fusion Academy.
Background of the Jolie-Pitt Family
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie share six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne. The couple began dating in 2004 after meeting on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, married in 2014, and announced their separation in 2016. They were declared legally single in 2019. Since the split, several of the children have distanced themselves from Pitt's surname.
In a recent interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Jolie opened up about her personal life, stating, "To be candid, I haven't dated since I divorced a decade ago. So I get in my head that that aspect of me is not centred in my life if I'm focusing on my children, my family." She added, "Things are changing, but in a way I didn't expect. It doesn't feel like I'm 51 and starting to think of being older. I'm thinking I have to live again. Be free again. In a way that maybe life has broken me a little bit."
Public and Legal Implications
The name change petitions are a public step in the family's ongoing dynamics. According to USA Today, the notices must run in four issues of a local newspaper under California law. Pitt has moved on with girlfriend Ines de Ramon, while Jolie remains single, focusing on her children and family.
