Angelina Jolie dines with sons after Vivienne drops Brad Pitt surname

Angelina Jolie has dined with her sons Knox and Pax in West Hollywood days after Vivienne became the fourth of her six children to drop Brad Pitt's surname, a move that deepens the family's post-divorce fracture.

The actress, 51, was photographed smiling at a dinner date with Knox, 18, and Pax, 22, on Sunday, with Knox seen driving his elder brother to the restaurant before they waited together at the valet. Jolie wore a white blouse, grey slacks and a chestnut coat, her hair sleek and straight, according to the Daily Mail.

Media additions

Vivienne, 18, Knox's twin, was granted her petition to legally change her name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie by a Los Angeles judge. The Daily Mail reviewed court documents showing the decree was signed and filed after no objections were raised. The hearing took place on Monday morning, with Vivienne's attorney, Peter Kenneth Levine, appearing remotely via LACourtConnect.

Vivienne follows Shiloh, 20, Maddox, 25, and Zahara, 21, who have all legally changed their surnames. Shiloh dropped Pitt's name last year, changing from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Jolie. Zahara and Maddox published notices in the Los Angeles Daily Journal in June and July, with hearings scheduled for September 28 and September 14 respectively. Vivienne took out her own newspaper advertisement in The Los Angeles Daily Journal, publishing notice once a week for four consecutive weeks from July 24 to August 14, a standard step before a California court will approve a name change.

Knox and Pax remain the only children of the former couple who have not filed paperwork to drop Pitt's name. Knox has yet to legally drop the surname, and Pax has also kept it for now.

Child	Age	Surname status
Shiloh	20	Dropped Pitt's name last year
Maddox	25	Published notice; hearing September 14
Zahara	21	Published notice; hearing September 28
Vivienne	18	Petition granted; now Vivienne Marcheline Jolie
Knox	18	Has not filed to drop Pitt's name
Pax	22	Has not filed to drop Pitt's name

The name changes are the latest development in a bitter, eight-year divorce battle that was officially finalized in 2024. Jolie and Pitt met on the set of the 2005 film Mr and Mrs Smith, married in August 2014 during a secret ceremony in the South of France, and welcomed six children together before their marriage ended after a volatile plane incident in 2016 and abuse allegations, which Pitt has adamantly denied. He has never been charged with a crime, and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services cleared him of physical abuse allegations.

A source close to Jolie told People that she is looking for "everyone to heal." The insider said: "If people knew the whole truth, they would have more sympathy for the children and respect them. The fact they aren't speaking ill or sharing things publicly only shows their decency. Angie hasn't been fighting and isn't angry. She just wants everyone to heal."

Pitt's side paints a different picture. A source previously told the Daily Mail that Brad views the rift with his children as "deeply painful" and "believes Angelina's role in how things unfolded is the ultimate betrayal." Multiple sources have spoken to the outlet in his defence, insisting he is not the absent father he has been portrayed as and that he wants a relationship with all six children. Regarding Pax, 22, who previously called his father a "world-class a**hole" and accused him of making his younger siblings "tremble in fear," one insider said Brad "honestly considers his relationship with Pax unfixable" and does not appear to be planning outreach to either of his adopted sons. "Pax and Maddox have made it abundantly clear how they feel and Brad has nothing to say about either of them," the source said. As for the others, Brad "holds out hope that the others will one day come around. Time heals wounds."

A source close to Jolie hit back at her ex-husband, saying: "Brad continues to play the victim. His fractured relationship with his children is a direct result of how he has treated them."

Vivienne's distancing from the Pitt name began publicly in May 2024, when she dropped her father's surname in the Playbill program for the Broadway production of The Outsiders, listing herself as Vivienne Jolie while serving as a producer alongside her mother. Born in 2008 alongside twin brother Knox, she is the youngest of the former couple's six children.

Pitt has since moved on with jewellery designer Ines de Ramon, 33, whom he has been dating for the last few years.

What happens next

• Vivienne's name change is now legally final after the court granted her petition with no objections.
• Knox and Pax remain the only Jolie-Pitt children who have not filed paperwork to drop their father's surname.
• Pitt's representatives have not publicly responded to Vivienne's petition beyond prior characterisations of the family rift as deeply painful.

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