LOS ANGELES — The legal and emotional divide between Brad Pitt and his children appears to be widening. Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt, the eldest son of Hollywood exes Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, has officially filed documents to legally drop “Pitt” from his surname.
According to reports initially published by TMZ, the 24-year-old filed the request to shorten his legal name to Maddox Chivan Jolie. While the petition is currently pending court approval, the move solidifies a years-long transition toward completely distancing himself from his father’s moniker.
A Professional Shift Before the Legal One
The official filing comes on the heels of Maddox altering his name in professional spaces. Most recently, he served as an assistant director on the upcoming drama Couture, which stars his 50-year-old mother.
When the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2025, eagle-eyed journalists noticed that both the official production notes and the film’s end credits listed him simply as “Maddox Jolie.” The film subsequently debuted in French theaters on February 18.
This marked a distinct departure from his previous work. On the 2024 Netflix biopic Maria, where he worked as a production assistant, he was still formally credited under his full hyphenated name, Maddox Jolie-Pitt.
A Growing Family Trend
Maddox is far from the first of the six Jolie-Pitt siblings to reject the Oscar-winning actor’s surname. In fact, a domino effect has been rippling through the family over the last two years:
- Shiloh Jolie: Upon turning 18, Shiloh filed legal paperwork to formally drop “Pitt” from her name.
- Zahara Jolie: Now 21, Zahara publicly distanced herself from the name during a university event, introducing herself strictly as Zahara Marley Jolie.
- Vivienne Jolie: The 17-year-old twin was credited solely as Vivienne Jolie in the Broadway Playbill for The Outsiders, which she helped her mother produce.
The former couple, who split after a volatile 2016 plane incident, also share 22-year-old Pax and 17-year-old Knox.
Brad Pitt ‘Upset’ Over Fractured Bonds
The steady drumbeat of his children abandoning his name has reportedly taken a heavy emotional toll on the 62-year-old F1 star. Sources close to Pitt have previously expressed that the actor is deeply saddened by the ongoing estrangement.
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”The reminders that he’s lost his children is, of course, not easy for Brad,” a source stated. “He loves his children and misses them.”
As Maddox’s petition awaits a judge’s signature, the public erasure of the Pitt name serves as the latest definitive chapter in the complex, highly publicized dissolution of the former “Brangelina” family unit.