The Sign Vivienne Jolie-Pitt Dropped Brad Pitt's Last Name, Too
Brad Pitt's relationship with his six kids is becoming increasingly complicated as they grow up. The decision by his youngest daughter, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, to not use his name professionally seems to prove he's lost pretty much all of them. Pitt's divorce from Angelina Jolie has reportedly taken a toll on the children, who seem to have taken their mother's side. Since the start of the ongoing proceedings in 2016, Pitt has struggled to maintain contact with Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox.
According to sources, only the twins, Vivienne and Knox, are still in regular touch with their father. "He has virtually no contact with the adult kids," an insider told People in July 2024, suggesting the "Fight Club" actor still sees the youngest two, who turned 16 that same month, because they're still subjected to court-ordered visitations with their father. But even his time with the twins has been cut back. "His engagement with the younger kids is more limited in recent months because of his filming schedule," the source added.
As the legal battle approaches its end, Jolie is set to keep primary custody of the minors with Pitt maintaining visitations. However, it looks like the visits won't do much to change how Vivienne and Knox see their father. "Once Brad left, it was very hard for them to see him go to war with her," a source told Us Weekly in June 2024. Vivienne's choice of name indicates she has followed in her older sister's footsteps.
She was credited as Vivienne Jolie on the play she helped produce
In early 2024, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt worked alongside Angelina Jolie as producer assistant on the musical "The Outsiders." But when the play debuted on Broadway, it wasn't the teenager's producing abilities that caught everyone's attention. In the Playbill for the musical, Jolie and Brad Pitt's daughter was credited as Vivienne Jolie, not Jolie-Pitt. Neither Angelina nor Vivienne has addressed the apparent name change at the time of this report. It is also unclear whether Vivienne changed her name legally or just professionally.
But the decision to go by Jolie is indicative of a bigger trend among the Jolie-Pitts. Vivienne's sister, Shiloh, applied to legally drop Brad Pitt's name on May 27, 2024, the day she turned 18, suggesting she had been waiting to become an adult to make the change. Her petition was granted in August 2024, and she officially became Shiloh Jolie. News of Shiloh's dropping Pitt's name caught many by surprise. After all, she was believed to be the one closest to the estranged father.
In April , sources claimed Shiloh was getting ready to move in with her dad, the Mirror reported. While Shiloh was the first — and seemingly only one so far — to make the move legally binding, she wasn't the first to drop Pitt's name from social use. In November 2023, Vivienne and Shiloh's older sister introduced herself as "Zahara Marley Jolie" — no Jolie-Pitt — when she joined the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha at Spelman College, becoming the first to do so.
Brad Pitt is reportedly devastated over his daughters' decision
Brad Pitt hasn't taken the news about his daughters opting to ditch his name lightly. "Knowing his children are dropping his last name is upsetting," a source told Us Weekly in June 2024. Shiloh Jolie's decision was a particularly hard pill to swallow given its permanent nature. "To him, it was more than a change of name — it was a symbol of a deeper estrangement that has been brewing for years," an insider told Us Weekly in a subsequent June 2024 report.
Another source contented that, while Pitt works hard to keep the press from gaining insight into the goings-on of his family, it shouldn't be mistaken for indifference. "Brad's putting on a brave face, but behind closed doors, he's finding it extremely difficult to come to terms with [what's happening]," the insider explained. The actor has certainly kept himself busy. In addition to his big-ticket Formula One project expected to hit theaters in mid-2025, he has starred in "Wolfs" alongside George Clooney and produced "Bob Marley: One Love" and Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" in 2024 alone.
He has also invested in his personal life. Pitt's relationship with Ines de Ramon is going strong, with the two making their red carpet debut in September 2024 at the "Wolfs" premiere. That doesn't mean he isn't trying to mend the relationship with his kids. "After years of legal battles, Brad still isn't ready to give up on his children," the first Us Weekly insider added.