Zahara Marley Jolie, the 21-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, has officially dropped her father’s last name following a Los Angeles judge’s approval of her legal petition on Sept. 28, according to court documents obtained by Page Six. Presiding over the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Judge Virginia Keeny signed and filed the decree after noting there were no objections during the morning hearing.
Zahara’s attorney, Peter Kenneth Levine, appeared remotely for the proceedings. The legal milestone follows months of public steps by the Spelman College graduate to distance herself from the surname Pitt, including publishing notices of her proposed name change in the Los Angeles Daily Journal across June and July.
Public Drops Preceded Legal Name Change
Zahara had already stopped using her father’s last name publicly well before the court finalized the paperwork. In May, she was introduced simply as Zahara Marley Jolie while accepting her diploma at Spelman College. She previously made headlines in November 2023 when she proudly used the same surname during her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority induction ceremony.
The name change places Zahara alongside several of her siblings who have taken legal or public steps regarding their surnames. Earlier this month, 25-year-old Maddox officially removed Pitt from his surname, citing personal reasons, after he and Zahara had previously placed notices in newspapers. Shiloh, 20, petitioned for a name change on her 18th birthday in May 2024, resulting in her becoming Shiloh Jolie. Knox, her younger brother, had his father’s last name removed from his high school diploma earlier this year, while their 18-year-old sister Vivienne has initiated the legal process to drop “Pitt” from her name after previously being billed as Vivienne Jolie in the Broadway production of “The Outsiders.” In contrast, while a separate source claims he has minimal contact with his father, Page Six reported that older brother Pax maintains a close relationship with Pitt’s family.
Reactions From Sources Close to the Family
Following the court’s minute order, sources close to both parents offered sharply contrasting views of the legal filing. A source close to Brad Pitt told Page Six that the name change reflects complete and total alienation, stating that one side has consistently tried to weaponize the children. In response, a second source close to Angelina Jolie countered that the hearing was required by law, scheduled months in advance by the court system, and criticized attempts to spin a conspiracy theory while attacking his own child.
Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in September 2016 after two years of marriage. The ongoing legal fallout continues to shape public developments surrounding the family as the younger generation reaches adulthood and alters their official documentation.