Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt's Daughter Moves Forward With Name Change

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s Daughter Zahara Files to Legally Remove Dad’s Last Name

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Zahara Jolie-Pitt is taking the next step in legally changing her name.

After the 21-year-old filed to legally remove her dad’s last name in June, she took the next step in California’s mandatory name change process, according to court documents obtained by E! News.

Zahara published notice of her petition in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, per the docs. The notice is a crucial step for the Spelman grad as California state law says the petition must be posted in a local newspaper for four consecutive weeks, with anyone opposing the change required to submit a written opposition before the final hearing, in order for a legal name alteration to be made.

E! News has reached out to reps for both Angelina and Brad for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Zahara filed a petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court on June 4 to remove her dad's surname from her legal name of Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, petitioning to be known as Zahara Marley Jolie moving forward, according to documents obtained by E! News at the time.

She signed her petition on April 28, just weeks before she graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology.

And at the May 17 commencement ceremony, Zahara was called to receive her diploma with the Fight Cub actor’s last name noticeably missing.

In 2024, Brad and Angelina’s now-20-year-old daughter Shiloh Jolie also legally dropped her father’s name after submitting paperwork to drop the "Pitt" in her hyphenated surname.

Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images ,Photo by Maria Moratti/Getty Images

Though neither Brad nor Angelina—who also share kids Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, and 18-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne together—have addressed Zahara’s desire for a legal name change publicly, the Maleficent star previously shared insight into how her daughter inspires her.

“I have learned so much from her,” Angelina said during a TIME 100 interview in 2020 of Zahara, who she adopted from Ethiopia in 2005. “She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman and her connection to her country, her continent, is her own and it’s something I only stand back in awe of.”

And it’s because of her kids’ insistence on carving out their own path that Angelina—who finalized her divorce from Brad in 2024 following an eight-year legal battle—has found her spark again.

“I think my fighting spirit is finally back,” she told Variety in an interview published June 17. “I lost it for a bit. I got kind of taken down a little bit and it's coming back in large part thanks to my children, who are now older, and encouraging it.”

For more on Brad and Angelina’s family, read on…

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