Content Advisory: This article discusses family estrangement, divorce, custody disputes, and past allegations connected to a private plane incident. Reader discretion is advised.
Brad Pitt’s strained relationship with his children appears to have taken another public hit.
The actor’s adopted son Maddox, 24, has reportedly filed to legally remove “Pitt” from his surname. According to court documents, he will now go by Maddox Chivan Jolie, with the reason for the change listed as “personal.” Maddox was adopted by Angelina Jolie in 2002. Pitt later adopted him in 2006, during the former couple’s years together.
The legal move comes amid long-running reports that Pitt remains estranged from several of his children.
Maddox Drops Pitt Name
Maddox appeared to hint at the change earlier this year.
In February, he was credited as “Maddox Jolie” in Angelina’s film ‘Couture’. One year earlier, he used “Maddox Jolie-Pitt” in the credits for her 2024 film ‘Maria’. Now, the name change has reportedly become official.
Maddox is not the first of Jolie and Pitt’s children to distance themselves from the Pitt surname. Shiloh legally removed “Pitt” from her name after turning 18 in 2024. Her lawyer later said she had made an “independent and significant decision following painful events.”
Other Jolie-Pitt Children Have Also Dropped The Name
Zahara has also used Jolie without Pitt publicly. Her name was reportedly read as “Zahara Marley Jolie” during her Spelman College graduation.
Vivienne was identified as “Vivienne Jolie” in the 2024 playbill for ‘The Outsiders’, which she worked on with her mother.
Pitt and Jolie’s other two sons, Pax and Knox, have not publicly indicated whether they have legally dropped the Pitt surname. Still, reports have continued to claim that Pitt is estranged from all six children.
The former couple began dating in 2005 and married in 2014. Jolie filed for divorce in 2016 after an alleged dispute on a private plane involving the family.
The Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services later concluded its investigation and found no findings of abuse.
Angelina Jolie Has Spoken About Life After Divorce
What followed was a long and bitter divorce and custody battle that stretched across eight years.
Jolie has since hinted that the custody arrangement affected where she could live. In an interview, she said she had to remain in Los Angeles until her twins, Vivienne and Knox, turned 18.
“I am here because I have to be here from a divorce,” Jolie said. “But as soon as they’re 18, I’ll be able to leave.” She added that when someone has a large family, they want “privacy, peace, and safety.”
For Pitt, Maddox’s reported legal name change is another sign that the family fracture remains unresolved.
