Celebrity families

Maddox Jolie drops Pitt from his last name, just like his sisters Shiloh and Zahara

Maddox has filed the paperwork for his updated legal name

Maddox Jolie-Pitt joins his siblings in personal decision about his last name

MAY 29, 2026 12:35 PM EDTMAY 29, 2026, 12:35 PM EDT

Maddox Jolie Pitt is changing his legal name. The son of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt is following in his sisters' footsteps, officially dropping his father's surname.

Maddox is officially dropping Brad Pitt's surname

As reported by TMZ, Maddox has filed the necessary paperwork to drop Pitt from his surname, becoming Maddox Chivan Jolie. He follows in the footsteps of his siblings, including Shiloh, who legally dropped her father's surname. Zahara and Vivian have also dropped the surname Pitt, with Zahara introducing herself as Zahara Jolie on her graduation from Spelman College. A couple of years ago, Vivian collaborated with her mother on the Broadway play "The Outsiders," listing her name in the credits as Vivienne Jolie.

Earlier this year, Maddox embraced his new legal name professionally. He worked as an assistant director on Angelina Jolie's latest movie, "Couture," where he was credited as Maddox Jolie. This marked the first time that Maddox embraced a new legal name in a work setting. In 2024, he was featured in the credits of "Maria," another one of Jolie's films, where he was credited as Maddox Jolie-Pitt.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 29: (L-R) Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Zahara Marley Jolie and Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt attend the "Maria" screening during the 62nd New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on September 29, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for FLC) — Maddox and his siblings often support Angelina and her work

Jolie and Pitt's children opt to steer clear of the spotlight, but they follow in their parents' footsteps in key ways. Many of them are involved in the arts, opting for work behind the scenes. In the case of Maddox, he's also a pilot, like Jolie.

“I am a pilot,” said Jolie on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." “And my son Maddox is training to be a pilot too. He, actually, he is a pilot now.”

The fractured Jolie-Pitt family

Angelina Jolie seeks $30k from Brad Pitt and reveals emotional financial details about their divorce — Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt raised their six kids throughout their marriage

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt separated in 2016, after spending a decade together and raising six children. The pair reached a legal settlement in 2024, after years of legal battles. While they've refrained from addressing their split with the media, their children have sided with Jolie, attending important events with her and rarely being photographed with their father since the split.

Maddox is Angelina's eldest son, whom she adopted as a single parent in 2002. Pitt later adopted him as his own. Still, this initial bond that Jolie and Maddox shared remains strong, with the two collaborating on numerous projects together and sharing an affinity that they've discussed at different times with the media.

"I'm so happy for [Maddox] that he's grown up into such a good man,” said Jolie to Entertainment Weekly in 2019. “I say that 'cause he's smart and he's doing his work, but he's also wild. He's balanced in his teenage years."