Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Shiloh took it upon herself to legally drop her father’s last name from her own surname when turning 18 last week.
“Shiloh hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself,” an insider told “Entertainment Tonight” about Shiloh’s move to legally petition the Los Angels County Superior court to change her name from “Shiloh Jolie-Pitt” to just “Shiloh Jolie.”
Actor Brad Pitt and children Pax Jolie-Pitt (hidden) and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt (front) arrive for the U.S. premiere of Universal Pictures “Unbroken,” December 15, 2014 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
A source close to the matter told People that Shiloh’s move was in part motivated by her mother’s allegations related to her father’s “abuse history.” In Jolie and Pitt’s contentious, drawn-out divorce, the “Maleficent” star has alleged that Pitt was physically abusive to her before and during an infamous 2016 private plane ride from Europe that prompted her to file for divorce.
Shiloh, an aspiring dancer, filed legal documents to drop Pitt from her last name on May 27, her 18th birthday, People reported.
Shiloh is the fourth-eldest of the former Hollywood power couple’s six children, and the eldest of their three biological children. The couple also share Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, and 15-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. Shiloh’s 2006 birth in Swakopmund, Namibia, was a high-profile event that made headlines around the world.
In the past year, two of Shiloh’s siblings also have publicly dropped Pitt from their surnames, though Shiloh is the first to do it officially.
In a video shared by Essence magazine in 2023, Zahara can be seen and heard not using the name Pitt when introducing herself as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at Spelman College. “My name is Zahara Marley Jolie,” she shouted between poses.
Additionally, Vivienne dropped “Pitt” in her Playbill credit for the new musical “The Outsiders,” which her mother produced, People reported last week.
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 27: (L to R) Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Maddox Jolie-Pitt and Knox Jolie-Pitt attend the “Eternals” UK Premiere at the BFI IMAX Waterloo on October 27, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)
As a family, Jolie, Pitt and their six children were once famous and admired for their glamorous, globe-trotting lifestyle and Jolie’s humanitarian endeavors. But the family has since broken apart in spectacular and tragic fashion, amid Jolie and Pitt’s contentious divorce, during which Jolie has accused the “Fight Club” actor of being physically abusive during their 12-year relationship.
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016, days after they allegedly had an altercation on a private plane returning to Los Angeles from France. Several of the actors’ children also reportedly were involved in the incident, according to an FBI report.
Details about the 2016 confrontation emerged in a 2022 Freedom of Information lawsuit Jolie filed against the federal law enforcement agency, as well as in court papers related to their protracted child-custody battle and their legal fight over their French winery, Chateau Miraval, the Los Angeles Times reported.
When Jolie filed for divorce, she requested sole physical custody of their six children. Pitt tried to fight back, both in family court and in the court of public opinion.
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As he was campaigning for his Academy Award for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” in 2019 and 2020, he went on an apology tour of sorts and admitted in interviews that he worked to overcome a drinking problem and issues with anger management.
An insider told People in August 2022 that Pitt still hoped to maintain a connection to his children amid his legal battles with his ex-wife.
“Since Angelina filed for divorce, Brad has been focused on having the best relationship possible with his kids,” the insider said at the time.
But the insider also said: “It’s been very difficult for him. Many times, there have been long gaps where he didn’t see the kids at all.”
Pitt’s lack of connection with his children has been “a sad situation for years,” the insider also said.
People in Pitt’s camp have alleged that Jolie worked to turn the children against him. A security guard who once worked for the ex-couple — and who still works for Pitt — alleged that Jolie encouraged their children to “avoid” their father during visits, People reported, citing court documents related to the exes’ battle over Château Miraval.
There also have been reports that Maddox, Pax and Zahara, who were first adopted by Jolie, have long been estranged from their father, or that they have at least distanced themselves from him. Now, it appears that the estrangement also may apply to Shiloh and Vivienne, with their new surname choices.
