Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, now 18, has filed a legal petition to remove her father's surname from her identity. This move follows similar actions by her older siblings, Maddox and Zahara, as the family's public estrangement continues to unfold in the courts.
Vivienne’s November 2 court date and the four-week notice period
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt has initiated the formal process to change her legal name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie. To comply with California state law, the petitioner must publish an Order to Show Cause in a newspaper for four consecutive weeks. according to the report, Vivienne ran these notices from July 24 through August 14.
The legal process concludes with a final hearing scheduled for November 2. If no parties submit a written opposition before that date, a judge can officially approve the request. This procedural step is a standard requirement for name changes in the state of California,ensuring that the public has an opportunity to object to the change of identity.
Maddox and Zahara’s September hearings in the Los Angeles Daily Journal
The move by Vivienne Jolie-Pitt is part of a broader pattern among the children of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. her older siblings, Maddox (25) and Zahara (21), have also filed petitions to drop the Pitt surname. As reported by the Daily Mail, both siblings published their intentions in the Los Angeles Daily Journal during June and July.
The court timeline for the older siblings is more immediate than Vivienne's. Maddox is scheduled for a hearing on September 14, while Zahara’s hearing is set for September 28. Zahara has already been distancing herself from the name for years; she reportedly dropped the surname three years ago when joining a sorority at Spelman College and used the name Zahara Marley Jolie during her graduation, an event that TMZ reports Brad Pitt did not attend.
From the May 2024 Playbill to a legal identity shift
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt's decision to seek a legal change follows a public signal sent earlier this year. In May 2024, the teenager omitted her father's surname in the Playbill program for the Broadway production of The Outsiders. This public omission served as a precursor to the legal filing, suggesting a deliberate and phased effort to distance herself from the Pitt lineage .
This trend of identity shedding among the children echoes the long-term collapse of the co-parenting relationship between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. While Angelina Jolie has expressed a desire for "everyone to heal," the systematic removal of the father's name by three of the six children suggests a profound emotional and legal break that transcends simple family disagreement.
Brad Pitt’s 'deeply painful' rift and the missing voice of the children
Brad Pitt reportedly views the estrangement from his children as "deeply painful." According to the Daily Mail, the actor believes that Angelina Jolie’s influence in the unfolding family dynamics constitutes the "ultimate betrayal." Conversely,sources defending Brad Pitt insist that he is not an absent father and maintains a strong desire to reconcile with all six of his children.
Despite the detailed legal filings, several critical pieces of information remain unknown. The court documents list the reason for the name change simply as "personal," leaving the specific grievances of Vivienne, Maddox, and Zahara unstated. Furthermore, while the reports highlight the perspectives of the parents and unnamed sources, the children themselves have not issued public statements explaining their decision to legally sever their paternal link.
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