ZAHARA JOLIE-PITT DROPS FATHER BRAD PITT'S SURNAME

Zahara Jolie-Pitt, daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, has legally dropped her father's surname and now goes by Zahara Marley Jolie, according to court documents. A California judge approved the change without objection, the documents show. She is the third of the couple's six children to remove the Pitt surname, following Shiloh, who filed on her 18th birthday in 2024, and Maddox, whose change became official earlier this month. Pitt's representatives have not commented on the filing.

Pitt and Jolie share six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox. The couple met filming Mr & Mrs Smith, began a relationship in 2005, married in 2014, separated in 2016 and finalised their divorce in December 2024, according to court records. Vivienne has also filed to change her name, from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie, on her 18th birthday in July. A hearing on her petition is scheduled for 2 November.

The filings follow an alleged altercation involving Pitt and his family aboard a private flight from France to Los Angeles in 2016, which Jolie has said contributed to the couple's divorce. In documents filed after she petitioned for divorce that year, Jolie accused Pitt of physical and emotional abuse during the flight, an allegation Pitt denied; he was investigated and cleared by multiple agencies. Pitt has separately accused Jolie of alienating their children from him, which Jolie denies. In 2023, a Father's Day message reportedly posted from Pax's private Instagram account criticised Pitt directly. Vivienne's hearing on 2 November is the next scheduled step in the family's court filings.