Shiloh Jolie-Pitt turned 18 years old this week—May 27, to be exact—and celebrated the milestone age with a significant change: her name, which she filed paperwork to legally change from Shiloh Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Jolie on her birthday this past Monday, TMZ reports. Shiloh is the daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and this name change would, at least in one very significant way, sever a major tie to her father by dropping his surname.
“Mind you, this doc was literally filed on Monday, which was on Memorial Day, and also happens to be her 18th birthday,” the outlet reports. “So, it seems this was one of the first things she wanted to do as an adult.” The publication added “Of course, it’s incredibly telling—it’s no secret Brad has had a strained relationship with some of his kids since he and Angelina filed for divorce in 2016, an ugly split that has dragged on in court, even to this day.”
Shiloh is one of Jolie and Pitt’s six children, all of whom carried the Jolie-Pitt surname—or at least did. Zahara, another of the ex-couple’s daughters, doesn’t use Pitt in her name anymore, TMZ reports, and their youngest daughter, 15-year-old Vivienne, has reportedly also avoided using “Pitt” in her name; “she was only listed as Vivienne Jolie on a Playbill for an Angelina-produced Broadway musical she was recently working on as a PA,” TMZ writes. (The play, by the way, is The Outsiders.) Jolie and Pitt’s eldest, Maddox, also reportedly doesn’t use “Pitt” in his surname anymore, “but it appears as if Shiloh is the only one of the kids who’s filed to make it count in court,” the outlet reports.
If her request is granted, Shiloh’s legal name will be Shiloh Nouvel Jolie. In addition to her siblings Zahara, Vivienne, and Maddox, Shiloh has two other siblings, Pax and Knox, who is Vivienne’s twin.
Jolie and Pitt began dating in 2005 after starring together in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and, controversially at the time, not long after Pitt filed for divorce from Jennifer Aniston. Jolie and Pitt officially married in 2014, but just two years later, Jolie filed for divorce in 2016 “following an alleged altercation during a flight with their children,” Entertainment Tonight reports. “The pair have been entrenched in a lengthy legal battle since,” largely centered around the custody of their children and ownership over their French winery, Chateau Miraval.
Of Pitt’s relationship with his children, “He wishes their relationship was stronger and wants to work on that,” a source speaking to Us Weekly said, adding that the actor is disappointed that he “doesn’t see the kids” as often as he’d like to.
As far back as August 2022, a source speaking to People said that “it’s been a sad situation for years,” adding “Since Angelina filed for divorce, Brad has been focused on having the best relationship possible with his kids. It’s been very difficult for them. Many times, there have been long gaps when he didn’t see the kids at all.” Yet, they said, “He [Pitt] believes there will be a time when he has a great relationship with his kids again.”
For her part, Jolie’s lawyer said in a recent statement to People that “All Angelina has ever wanted was separation and health, with positive relationships between all members of their family, including Mr. Pitt.”
