Vivienne Jolie files petition to drop Pitt surname
Vivienne Jolie has officially petitioned to remove "Pitt" from her legal name, following her siblings in a process that began after the 2016 separation.
The legal transition of the Jolie-Pitt children to distance themselves from their father’s surname has reached a new milestone. The application seeks to excise “Pitt,” officially styling her as Vivienne Marcheline Jolie. The filing, which cites “personal” reasons, sets a court hearing date for 2 November.
This action makes Vivienne the fourth of the six children shared by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to seek a legal name change. The move follows a pattern established by her older sister, Shiloh, whose request to be legally recognized as Shiloh Jolie was granted in August 2024. Two other siblings, 24-year-old Maddox and 21-year-old Zahara, have also initiated the process. Their respective hearings are slated for 14 September and 28 September, as both await court rulings on their petitions.
Media additions
The legal process, which necessitates the publication of a notice in the Los Angeles Daily Journal to satisfy California statutes, has drawn renewed attention to the family dynamics that have persisted since the parents' separation in 2016. While the legal filings proceed through the court system, both parents have refrained from issuing direct public comments on the specific name changes. However, representatives and sources close to the family have characterized the situation in divergent ways.
A source close to Angelina Jolie suggested that the focus remains on the well-being of the children. According to this perspective, the privacy maintained by the siblings reflects a deliberate choice to avoid public discourse on sensitive matters:
"If people knew the whole truth, they would have more sympathy for the children and respect them."
Source close to Jolie, via PEOPLE
"The fact they aren't speaking ill or sharing things publicly only shows their decency."
Source close to Jolie, via PEOPLE
"Angie hasn't been fighting and isn't angry. She just wants everyone to heal."
Source close to Jolie, via PEOPLE
Conversely, the perspective from the side of Brad Pitt focuses on the nature of the family dissolution. A source close to the actor previously remarked on the public nature of these filings, characterizing the shift in the children's naming conventions as a consequence of alienation:
"sad to see someone repeatedly publicize their successful alienation of their children from the other parent."
Source close to Pitt, via PEOPLE
In a 2025 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Brad Pitt discussed the importance of close family relationships, though he did not address the specific legal petitions regarding the name changes. For Vivienne, the move marks an formalization of a shift already visible in public life. In May 2024, she appeared in the credits for the Broadway production The Outsiders—a project she co-produced with her mother—as "Vivienne Jolie," omitting the "Pitt" portion of her surname.
The family dynamic remains set against a backdrop of prolonged litigation. Although the parents were declared legally single in 2019, they continue to be engaged in a dispute involving the French winery Château Miraval. As the legal system prepares to review the name change requests in the coming months, public and media scrutiny continues to follow the family. The upcoming hearings for Maddox, Zahara, and Vivienne remain the next significant markers in this ongoing process.
