Vivienne Jolie-Pitt Moves to Drop “Pitt” as More of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s Children Distance Themselves From the Surname

For years, the names Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were inseparable in Hollywood.

They were one of the entertainment industry's most famous couples, known around the world as “Brangelina.” Their relationship began after they starred together in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, grew into a highly publicized romance, and eventually became a family of eight.

But nearly a decade after Angelina Jolie filed for divorce, another chapter of that relationship is unfolding — this time through the names of their children.

Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, the youngest daughter of Jolie and Pitt, has taken legal steps to remove “Pitt” from her surname.

According to court documents reported by the Los Angeles Times and E! News, Vivienne filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court asking to change her legal name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie. The petition was filed shortly after her 18th birthday, and the reason given for the request was simply “personal.”

The request does not itself accuse anyone of wrongdoing.

It does, however, add another striking development to the long-running story surrounding the former Hollywood couple and their six children.

Vivienne is now the fourth of the six children to take formal steps toward removing “Pitt” from her legal name or to publicly use “Jolie” without the hyphenated surname.

Her older sister Shiloh successfully changed her name in 2024. Her siblings Maddox and Zahara have also filed petitions to remove “Pitt,” although their legal proceedings were still pending as of the latest reports.

And Vivienne's decision is particularly notable because she had already begun using the Jolie surname publicly before filing the petition.

Vivienne's Legal Filing

Vivienne turned 18 in July 2026.

Just days later, she filed a petition with Los Angeles County Superior Court requesting that her surname be changed from Jolie-Pitt to Jolie.

The requested name is Vivienne Marcheline Jolie.

The court filing reportedly lists the reason for the change as “personal,” without providing a detailed explanation.

That wording is significant.

There has been extensive public speculation about the relationship between Brad Pitt and his children, particularly following the bitter divorce proceedings between Pitt and Jolie. But the court filing itself does not say that Vivienne is changing her name because of her father, nor does it provide a detailed account of her relationship with either parent.

It is therefore important not to turn the filing into something it does not say.

What can be established is much simpler: Vivienne wants her legal surname to be Jolie rather than Jolie-Pitt.

Her request is part of a formal California legal process. The Los Angeles Times reported that a hearing on the petition was scheduled for November 2, 2026.

Before the change can become final, California's name-change procedure requires certain legal steps, including publication of notice in appropriate circumstances.

In Vivienne's case, notices concerning the proposed change were published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, according to reports based on court documents.

So although the decision may appear simple from the outside, legally it is more than an informal decision to use a different surname.

Vivienne is asking the court to formally recognize the name she has chosen for herself.

She Had Already Been Using “Jolie”

Vivienne's court petition did not come completely out of nowhere.

She had already appeared publicly under the name “Vivienne Jolie.”

In 2024, she was credited as Vivienne Jolie in the Playbill for The Outsiders, the Broadway musical that Angelina Jolie helped produce.

Vivienne worked alongside her mother on the production, serving as an assistant to Jolie during the Broadway project. The Playbill credit omitted “Pitt” entirely.

That detail is important because it suggests the legal filing was not necessarily the beginning of the change.

Instead, the court petition appears to formalize a surname she had already been using publicly in at least one professional context.

At the time, Vivienne was still a minor and therefore could not simply complete the same legal process independently that an adult could.

After turning 18, she was able to petition the court herself.

Her decision also comes after several of her siblings made similar choices.

Shiloh Was the First to Complete the Legal Change

The clearest example is Vivienne's older sister, Shiloh.

Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt turned 18 in May 2024.

On her 18th birthday, she filed a petition seeking to remove “Pitt” from her surname and become Shiloh Nouvel Jolie.

The move attracted immediate international attention because of the timing.

Her petition arrived in the middle of her parents' extraordinarily long and contentious divorce.

However, Shiloh's attorney later pushed back against media portrayals suggesting that she was using a newspaper advertisement to make a dramatic public statement against her father.

The publication was part of California's legal procedure for name changes, rather than simply a publicity announcement.

In August 2024, the court officially granted Shiloh's request.

She became legally known as Shiloh Nouvel Jolie, removing Pitt from her legal name.

That made Shiloh the first of the siblings to complete the legal process.