Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s Daughter Zahara Jolie Makes Another Quiet Change Amid Years of Family Upheaval

Oct 05, 2026 by apost team

For years, the Jolie-Pitt family has been navigating life in the public eye while making increasingly private decisions about how they identify themselves.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s six children have largely grown up under intense media attention, from their parents’ relationship and 2016 separation to the lengthy legal proceedings that followed. Jolie, 51, and Pitt, 62, were together for 12 years and married for two before separating in 2016. Their divorce was finalized in December 2024.

Their children are Maddox, 25; Pax, 22; Zahara, 21; Shiloh, 20; and twins Vivienne and Knox, 18.

In recent years, several siblings have taken steps to publicly separate their names from the Angelina-Pitt combination.

Shiloh began the process in 2024, filing to remove Pitt from her name when she turned 18. Maddox later followed, with his name officially changing from Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt to Maddox Chivan Jolie on Sept. 14.

Vivienne also filed a similar change request on her 18th birthday in July. Her request seeks to change her name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie, with a hearing scheduled for Nov. 2.

The changes have unfolded against the backdrop of years of tension surrounding Angelina and Pitt’s relationship and their family life.

Pitt and Angelina have publicly moved on with their separate lives, but reports about Pitt's relationship with his children have continued to surface.

And while Zahara had already been quietly signaling how she wanted to be known publicly, the significance of that choice only became clearer months later.

Zahara had already begun using a different version of her name in public before any court ruling, PEOPLE reported.

At her Spelman College graduation in May, she was introduced as “Zahara Marley Jolie,” and she introduced herself that way. She has also built a life increasingly separate from the Hollywood spotlight, including joining Alpha Kappa Alpha in November 2023.

Her relationship with her mother appears to remain close. A source told PEOPLE in May that Angelina has an “amazing relationship” with Zahara and is present for “pretty much everything.” The source also said Angelina encourages her children to embrace their individuality and supports their interests.

Meanwhile, reports about Pitt’s relationship with his children have become increasingly stark.

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A source told PEOPLE in July 2024 that Pitt had “virtually no contact” with his adult children, while still visiting his younger children at the time. Earlier this month, another source claimed there is “very little communication right now” between Pitt and the children and described the situation as “a tragedy.”

A Pitt-side source disputed that framing, attributing the family estrangement to what they described as “a prolonged campaign of alienation of children against their parent,” calling it “an incredibly sad reality.”

The family tensions have also been discussed in connection with the 2016 private-plane incident involving Pitt and one of the children. Sources made allegations of verbal and physical abuse, but the FBI later cleared Pitt, while Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services concluded there were no findings of abuse.

Against that complicated history, Zahara’s own choice has now become official. Following a hearing on Sept. 28, a California judge approved her petition to remove “Pitt” from her legal name, with no objections filed.

At 21, Zahara Marley Jolie is now officially Zahara Marley Jolie.