Angelina Jolie's Son Just Took a Major Step to Distance Himself From Dad Brad Pitt

After years of subtle and not-so-subtle moves to distance himself from his father, Maddox Jolie-Pitt has taken a significant legal step to make that distance more permanent. The oldest son of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt filed to legally change his name to Maddox Chivan Jolie, dropping the "Pitt," TMZ reported on May 29.

Maddox's court filing comes just months after people noticed that the 24-year-old dropped it from the French credits of Jolie's latest film, Couture. On that film, in which Maddox was the third assistant director, his name was simply listed as Maddox Jolie.

From Cambodia to the Jolie-Pitt Family

Maddox, who was born August 6, 2001, was adopted by Jolie from Cambodia when he was 7 months old. Jolie was in the country filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and even though she was married to Billy Bob Thornton at the time, she adopted Maddox on her own.

"Mad was the last kid I saw, he was three months old, and they put him in my arms, he stayed asleep," she explained on Inside the Actors Studio about meeting Maddox in an orphanage. "They put him in the bath, he stayed asleep, and I thought he was narcoleptic. And he opened his eyes, and he stared at me for the longest time, and I stared at him, and I just started crying. And he smiled."

In 2006, Pitt officially adopted him, making him Maddox Jolie-Pitt. But ten years later, it was an alleged altercation with Maddox on a private plane that was not only the final straw that broke up Jolie and Pitt's marriage, but also seems to have led to Maddox and his siblings' estrangement from their father.

Where Do the Other Jolie-Pitt Siblings Stand?

So far, neither Knox, 17, nor Pax, 22, has removed Pitt from their names. However, the same can't be said for their other three siblings.

Zahara Jolie-Pitt, 21, graduated from Spelman College this year and went by Zahara Jolie in the program. In 2024, Vivienne, 17, co-produced the theater production of The Outsiders and was listed as Vivienne Jolie in the Playbill. While neither Zahara nor Vivienne has taken the legal steps that Maddox has initiated, one sister has. Shortly after her 18th birthday, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt filed to legally change her name to Shiloh Jolie.

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 2:19 PM.