Brad Pitt Faces Renewed Family Rift as Youngest Daughter Vivienne Officially Seeks to Drop His Surname

Brad Pitt’s relationship with his children has once again come under public scrutiny after Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, the youngest daughter he shares with Angelina Jolie, officially filed a legal petition to remove “Pitt” from her last name. The move makes Vivienne the latest of the former couple’s six children to distance herself from her father’s surname, highlighting the growing divide within the family years after Brad and Angelina’s high-profile split.

According to documents filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the newly turned 18-year-old has requested to change her name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie. In the filing, she cited her reason simply as “personal” without offering further explanation. A court hearing regarding her petition is scheduled for November 2.

This is not the first time Vivienne has signaled that she no longer wishes to use her father’s surname. In 2024, while serving as a production assistant on the Broadway musical The Outsiders, produced by her mother Angelina Jolie, her name appeared in the playbill simply as Vivienne Jolie, with “Pitt” noticeably absent.

Vivienne’s decision follows similar moves made by several of her siblings. Shiloh became the first of Brad and Angelina’s children to legally remove “Pitt” from her name after turning 18 in 2024. Meanwhile, Zahara and Maddox have also begun legal proceedings to officially drop the surname and are awaiting final court hearings to complete the process.

The couple’s remaining sons, Pax and Knox, have not officially filed legal name-change petitions. However, Knox attracted attention after using the name Knox Jolie on his high school diploma earlier this year, a gesture many interpreted as another sign of the siblings’ preference for their mother’s surname.

According to multiple reports, Brad Pitt has not been publicly seen with any of his six children since 2016, the year his marriage to Angelina Jolie came to an end. Over the past decade, the strained relationship between the Oscar-winning actor and his children has remained a recurring topic in international media coverage.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie began their relationship in 2005 after starring together in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. They married in 2014, but Angelina filed for divorce just two years later, launching one of Hollywood’s longest and most complicated separations. The legal battle lasted eight years and included disputes over child custody as well as ownership of their French winery, Château Miraval.

Throughout those years, reports frequently suggested that Brad’s relationship with his children continued to deteriorate. Although the actor has reportedly hoped to rebuild those family ties, there has been little public indication that the distance has narrowed.

For her part, Angelina Jolie has rarely criticized her former husband publicly. Instead, she has often spoken about motherhood and how raising her children has helped her rediscover herself following the emotional challenges of divorce.

In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Angelina reflected: “I’m discovering something now that my daughters are older. They’re talking to me as young women, and I’m seeing what I want for them. I’m seeing what I don’t want them to lose and what I want them to hold on to. And it’s kind of reminding me what I may have lost.”

She went on to say that she hopes her daughters will always hold on to their “strength and openness and softness and faith and ferocity” as they build their own futures. Angelina added: “I think in some way they’re bringing me back to my old self. My desire for them to have all of the strength and openness and softness and faith and ferocity is reminding me.”

According to Angelina, watching her children grow into adulthood has also helped her rediscover an identity beyond motherhood. She explained: “I think they kind of want me now to not just be ‘Mom.’ There’s a different room for me to be that woman again, that’s not just a mom.” Many viewed her comments as a rare glimpse into her emotional journey after the divorce.

Angelina also previously told The Hollywood Reporter that once twins Vivienne and Knox turned 18, she would no longer be restricted by custody arrangements and would finally be free to pursue long-delayed plans.

She said, “I am here because I have to be here from a divorce, but as soon as they’re 18, I’ll be able to leave.” Angelina explained that she hopes to spend more time living in Cambodia while visiting family members around the world.

The actress further shared: “When you have a big family, you want them to have privacy, peace, safety.” She continued, “I have a house now to raise my children, but sometimes this place can be… that humanity that I found across the world is not what I grew up with here. I’ll spend a lot of time in Cambodia. I’ll spend time visiting my family members wherever they may be in the world.”

While Angelina has increasingly focused on humanitarian work, filmmaking, and life with her children, Brad Pitt has continued to build his acting career. After winning the Academy Award for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he has remained one of Hollywood’s biggest stars while expanding his work as a producer through Plan B Entertainment. Most recently, he returned to the big screen with the highly anticipated racing drama F1.

Even so, Brad’s professional success has done little to overshadow the long-running family story that continues to attract public attention. As more of his children choose to remove the Pitt surname, many continue to wonder whether the relationship between the actor and his family can ever truly be repaired.

At present, Brad Pitt has not publicly commented on Vivienne’s legal name-change request. Her petition is still awaiting the court’s decision. Whatever the final outcome, the youngest daughter’s latest move underscores the lasting impact of one of Hollywood’s most closely watched divorces—not only on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie themselves, but also on the lives of their six children.