Angelina Jolie Steps Out in Los Angeles Hours After Daughter Vivienne Legally Drops Brad Pitt’s Surname

Angelina Jolie stepped out in Los Angeles on Monday night for a special screening of the film Wild Horse Nine, appearing publicly just hours after a judge officially approved her daughter Vivienne’s petition to remove Brad Pitt from her legal name. The 18-year-old’s request to drop the hyphenated moniker marks the latest formal break between the former couple’s children and their father.

Dressed in a tailored black jacket with matching trousers, a crisp white shirt, and black stilettos, the 51-year-old Oscar winner briefly waved to photographers outside the Linwood Dunn theater. Her public appearance followed a significant legal milestone inside a Los Angeles courtroom earlier that day.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie

The Court Ruling: Inside Vivienne’s Legal Name Change

During the Monday court hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Virginia Keeny formally approved the change, reading aloud the teenager’s updated legal identity: Vivienne Marcheline Jolie. Vivienne’s attorney, Peter Kenneth Levine, attended the session remotely to finalize the paperwork.

Vivienne filed her petition on July 20, just eight days after reaching adulthood on her 18th birthday alongside her twin brother, Knox. In the initial court filings, she cited straightforward “personal” reasons for dropping the surname Pitt.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie

The move is part of an ongoing pattern among the former couple’s children. Vivienne is not the first sibling to discard their father’s surname upon reaching legal age, reflecting a deep, persistent rift inside the fractured household.

Vivienne Jolie

Vivienne and Angelina Jolie

Where the Rest of the Jolie-Pitt Siblings Stand

A widespread misconception is that these surname changes are mere stage names or casual social preferences. In reality, multiple adult Jolie-Pitt children have filed formal court documentation to ensure “Pitt” is eradicated from their government records.

Vivienne joins three older siblings who have legally shed the name. Maddox, 25, Zahara, 21, and Shiloh, 20, previously completed legal procedures to drop their father’s surname amid prolonged estrangement.

Vivienne’s twin brother, Knox, also chose to omit “Pitt” from his high school diploma earlier this year, though court records do not show a completed legal filing on his behalf.

Brad Pitt and daughter Vivienne

Angelina Jolie with some of her kids

A Bitter Custody War and Jolie’s Focus on Independence

The familial divide follows an eight-year courtroom conflict between the former Hollywood power couple. Jolie initially filed for divorce in September 2016 following two years of marriage and a relationship that began in 2004.

Although the pair were declared legally single in 2019, they did not reach a comprehensive divorce settlement until December 2024. Throughout the prolonged aftermath, Jolie has publicly framed her parenting philosophy around fostering autonomy for each of her six children.

“As a parent, you try to do many things, but you also try to not get in the way of this human being who has a life separate from yours and so much potential in their own mind. You want to make sure that you support them.”

Jolie noted that allowing her children to be “individuals” remains one of the most critical elements of motherhood. Her screening appearance at the Linwood Dunn theater on Monday served as an evening out to support the industry, catching Martin McDonagh’s 1973 Chile-set drama Wild Horse Nine, which stars her former Changeling co-star John Malkovich alongside Sam Rockwell, Parker Posey, and Steve Buscemi.

✨ The legal confirmation closes another chapter in the public dissolution of the Jolie-Pitt family unit.

📱 As the children reach adulthood, each continues to chart their own course independently through the legal system.

💬 What are your thoughts on how the Jolie-Pitt children are choosing to navigate their family legacy? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.