Zahara Jolie has officially taken steps to remove Brad Pitt from her surname, becoming the latest of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s children to distance herself from the Oscar-winning actor.
According to TMZ, the 21-year-old filed a petition in June requesting that her legal name be changed from Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt to Zahara Marley Jolie. The filing is now moving through the California court system, with a hearing scheduled for September 28, when a judge is expected to make the change official.
As part of California’s legal process for changing a name, Zahara Jolie was required to publish a public notice announcing her request. The notice appeared in the Los Angeles Daily Journal on June 16, June 23, June 30 and July 7, informing the public of her intention to legally drop “Pitt” from her surname. The publication also gives anyone with a legal objection an opportunity to notify the court before the hearing.
While the legal paperwork is only now being finalized, Zahara has reportedly been using the surname “Jolie” in public for years. Her latest filing simply makes that decision official.
She is not the first of the former Hollywood couple’s six children to make the change. Her sister Shiloh filed to legally remove “Pitt” from her name shortly after turning 18, while Vivienne has been professionally credited using only the surname “Jolie.” Maddox and Pax have also reportedly stopped using the Pitt surname publicly.
The latest development comes nearly a decade after Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016, ending one of Hollywood’s most high-profile marriages. Although the former couple has settled some aspects of their divorce, legal disputes and family tensions have continued to make headlines over the years.
TMZ reports that sources close to Brad Pitt believe Angelina Jolie influenced the children to distance themselves from their father. However, neither Brad Pitt nor Angelina Jolie has publicly commented on Zahara’s latest legal filing, and Zahara herself has not spoken publicly about her decision.
If the court approves her petition later this year, Zahara will officially be known as Zahara Marley Jolie, joining several of her siblings who have chosen to publicly identify with the Jolie surname alone.
This latest move adds another chapter to the family’s long-running public story, one that continues to draw attention as the Jolie-Pitt children begin making their own decisions about their identities as adults.
