Yet another of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s children appears to be distancing herself from her father’s surname, with 18-year-old Vivienne Jolie-Pitt filing a legal petition.
Keep reading to know more.
According to court documents obtained by People, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt filed the petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court on July 21, just days after celebrating her 18th birthday.
She listed the reason for the change as simply “personal.” If approved, her legal name will become Vivienne Marcheline Jolie, matching the name she has already used professionally.
Vivienne had seemingly begun moving away from the Jolie-Pitt surname before filing the paperwork. In 2024, she was credited as “Vivienne Jolie” in the Playbill for the Broadway production of The Outsiders, where she worked alongside her mother as a production assistant.
The decision suggests that she had already begun establishing an identity separate from the famous surname before formally requesting the legal change.
She is also not the first of the former couple’s children to distance themselves from the Pitt name. Shiloh legally changed her name to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie after turning 18, while Maddox and Zahara have also reportedly taken steps to use Jolie without their father’s surname.
Knox has similarly been reported to have used “Knox Jolie” on his high school diploma, although he has not publicly filed a legal name-change petition.
The decisions come amid years of tension surrounding the former couple’s family life. Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016, following an incident aboard a private plane that reportedly involved the couple and their children. The FBI and Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services investigated allegations stemming from the incident, though Pitt was never criminally charged.
The couple finalized their divorce in December 2024 after an extraordinarily lengthy legal battle, but their disputes have continued through a separate conflict involving Château Miraval, the French winery they once jointly owned.
Vivienne’s decision has also drawn comparisons to her mother, who legally dropped her father’s surname, Voight, in 2002 and became known simply as Angelina Jolie. Jolie had been estranged from her father, actor Jon Voight, for years at the time, making the similarities between their choices particularly notable to observers.
While none of the Jolie-Pitt children have publicly explained their reasons for changing or dropping their father’s surname, the decisions have fueled intense online speculation about their relationships with Pitt. A source close to the actor previously accused Jolie of contributing to the children’s estrangement from their father, while others have argued that the siblings are simply adults making independent choices about their own identities.
Vivienne’s legal hearing is reportedly scheduled for November 2.
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