Vivienne Jolie, the 18-year-old daughter of actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, has officially removed her estranged father's surname from her legal name. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge approved the petition on Nov. 2, 2026, formally changing her name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie, according to court documents reviewed by CBC News and Entertainment Weekly.

Judge Virginia Keeny granted the court order without objections during a hearing at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles. The legal milestone makes Vivienne the fourth of the former couple's six children to complete a formal court process to drop the "Pitt" surname, continuing a multi-year pattern of public and legal distancing by the siblings following their parents' 2016 separation.

Details of the Los Angeles Court Petition

Vivienne initiated the legal process in July 2026, shortly after reaching the age of majority alongside her twin brother, Knox. In the Los Angeles County Superior Court paperwork, the 18-year-old listed the reason for dropping the hyphenated portion of her last name simply as "personal," offering no additional public commentary on her relationship with her father.

Media outlets have differed slightly on the exact timeline of the initial court submission. While Page Six reported that Vivienne filed the petition on July 20—eight days after celebrating her 18th birthday—coverage from Euronews placed the filing date on July 12, her actual birthday. Similarly, while court records confirm her full approved legal name includes her middle name, Marcheline, outlets such as The Independent and Euronews have commonly referred to her new legal identity using the shortened form, Vivienne Jolie.

Prior to the court's November sign-off, Vivienne had already adopted the shortened surname in professional settings for more than two years. In May 2024, she was credited as "Vivienne Jolie" in the official Playbill for the Broadway musical production of The Outsiders, where she worked as a volunteer production assistant alongside her mother, who served as a co-producer on the show.

A Pattern of Surname Changes Among the Siblings

Angelina Jolie, 51, and Brad Pitt, 62, share six children: Maddox, 25; Pax, 22; Zahara, 21; Shiloh, 20; and 18-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. The siblings' approach to their surname has generated varying descriptions across entertainment reporting, largely due to the distinction between completed legal filings and informal public usage.

According to People, CBC News, and Entertainment Weekly, Vivienne is the fourth child to legally change her surname to Jolie. Her older sister Shiloh was the first to take formal legal action, filing to drop "Pitt" in May 2024 shortly after turning 18, with a judge approving the change to Shiloh Jolie in August 2024. In September 2026, two more siblings finalized legal petitions: Maddox received court approval to become Maddox Chivan Jolie on Sept. 14, and Zahara's petition to become Zahara Marley Jolie was approved on Sept. 28.

Conversely, outlets including Euronews and The Independent have described Vivienne as the fifth sibling to no longer go by "Jolie-Pitt." That broader count reflects the public choices of Vivienne's twin brother, Knox. Although it remains unknown whether Knox has filed any formal paperwork with the court, he publicly used the name "Knox Jolie" on his high school diploma when graduating from Fusion Academy in Los Angeles in June 2026.

Representatives for Jolie, Pitt, and Knox did not respond to requests for comment from Page Six regarding whether Knox plans to seek a formal court order.

That leaves 22-year-old Pax Jolie-Pitt as the only sibling who has neither legally changed his surname nor publicly dropped the hyphenated name in recent milestones, with Euronews noting he is reportedly the only child still in contact with Pitt's extended family.

Background on the 2016 Split and Estrangement

The legal name changes follow a decade of family division that began in September 2016, when Angelina Jolie filed for divorce after more than 10 years together. The filing occurred the day after an altercation aboard a private airplane, during which Pitt was alleged to have been verbally and physically abusive toward his family. Pitt was subsequently investigated by the FBI regarding child abuse allegations stemming from the flight and was cleared of all charges and wrongdoing.

After years of complex legal negotiations, the former couple's divorce was officially finalized in December 2024.

While the court petitions themselves cite only "personal" reasons and do not independently establish the private motives of the children, unnamed sources speaking to Page Six offered contrasting views of the family dynamic. One source close to Pitt described the ongoing surname removals as "heartbreaking" for the actor and alleged that the changes were the result of a deliberate effort to alienate the children from their father. However, a separate source told the outlet that Jolie participated in years of family therapy with Pitt and the children following the 2016 incident, stating that the distance between the actor and his children stems from broken trust after the events that led to the divorce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's children have legally changed their last names?

Four of the six children have received court approval to legally drop "Pitt" from their surnames. Shiloh's change was approved in August 2024, followed by Maddox on Sept. 14, 2026, Zahara on Sept. 28, 2026, and Vivienne on Nov. 2, 2026.

Has Knox Jolie-Pitt legally dropped his father's surname?

There is no public court record indicating that Knox has legally changed his name. However, he used the name "Knox Jolie" on his certificate when graduating from high school in Los Angeles in June 2026, which is why some media outlets count five siblings as no longer using the hyphenated surname.

What have the children stated publicly about their reasons for the name changes?

Neither the children nor their parents have issued public statements explaining the surname changes. In court documents filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the reason for Vivienne's petition was listed solely as "personal."

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