Highlights
- Maddox Jolie, 24, filed legal docs on May 28 to remove Pitt from his last name.
- He joins siblings Shiloh, Zahara, and Vivienne in dropping Brad Pitt’s surname.
- Brad Pitt’s rep declined to comment; the name change is still pending approval.
The Jolie-Pitt name is fading fast. Maddox Jolie, 24, filed documents on Thursday, May 28, requesting a legal name change that would drop “Pitt” from his surname, making his full name Maddox Chivan Jolie, according to TMZ. The request has not yet been granted.
The eldest son of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt cited “personal” reasons for the change.
A representative for Pitt told PEOPLE they would not comment on the filing.
The move comes as no surprise to those who have been tracking the family’s unraveling ties with the Oscar-winning actor. Maddox joins siblings Shiloh, Zahara, and Vivienne in dropping Pitt as a last name. Shiloh changed her name legally, Zahara dropped it informally, and Vivienne removed it from the playbill for a Broadway production she worked on.
The legal filing follows a very public, if quieter, professional signal. Maddox served as an assistant director on “Couture,” the drama starring Angelina, 50, as an American film director diagnosed with breast cancer just as she arrives in France to make a video for a Paris fashion show. He was listed simply as Maddox Jolie in the end credits.
That represented a clear shift from his most recent prior film credit. When he worked as a production assistant on Jolie’s 2024 Netflix film Maria, he was credited as Maddox Jolie-Pitt.
Maddox is the oldest of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s six children. He was adopted by Angelina from Cambodia in 2002, years before her relationship with Pitt began. After the couple became a family, Pitt also adopted Maddox.
He is not the trailblazer among his siblings in this regard. In August 2024, PEOPLE confirmed that Shiloh, born Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, had legally changed her name to Shiloh Jolie. Shiloh had filed to change her surname on May 27 of that year, which was also her 18th birthday.
Soon after Shiloh’s petition was filed, a source close to Pitt told PEOPLE that the F1 actor was “aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name.”
Zahara also dropped her father’s last name when she walked across the stage at her graduation from Spelman College on May 17, 2026. While the new graduate, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, was listed as Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt on the commencement program, her name was read aloud as “Zahara Marley Jolie” as she crossed the stage.
While Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, and Vivienne have all taken steps to distance themselves from their father’s name, 22-year-old Pax and 17-year-old Knox still carry the Jolie-Pitt moniker.
The broader family estrangement between Pitt and his children has been well-documented. A source told Us Weekly that Pitt wishes his relationship with his children were different. The actor’s biggest fear is being “permanently disconnected” from his kids.
Mexico City, Mexico on June 9, 2025. Credit: Carlos Tischler/EyePix/INSTARimages
Jolie and Pitt were together for roughly 12 years and married for two when the actress filed for divorce in 2016. The divorce was finally finalized in 2024.
For Maddox, who has largely stayed out of the public eye despite being raised in one of Hollywood’s most scrutinized households, the legal filing is a decisive step. According to People, Maddox wants to ensure he is not connected to his adopted father in any way.
The court has yet to approve the petition, but barring any legal complications, Maddox Chivan Jolie is simply a signature away.
MORE POP CULTURE HEADLINES
