Hollywood actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's children Zahara and Maddox are proceeding with legal steps to remove their father's surname "Pitt".
According to court documents obtained by U.S. entertainment outlet Page Six on the 13th (local time), Zahara (21) ran a petition to change her surname from "Zahara Jolie-Pitt" to "Zahara Jolie" in the Los Angeles Daily Journal for four consecutive weeks under California law.
The notices were published four times on June 16, 23 and 30, and July 7. The notice also stated that anyone objecting to the name change must submit a written opposition before the final hearing.
Zahara's name change petition is scheduled for a court hearing on Sept. 28. If there are no objections, a judge could grant final approval.
Eldest son Maddox (24) is following the same procedure. According to court documents, he ran name change notices in the same newspaper on June 10, 17 and 24, and July 1. In California, publishing a notice in a newspaper for a set period is required for a legal name change.
Previously, Zahara filed for a legal name change to "Zahara Jolie" last month. At Spelman College's graduation in May, she also did not use her father's surname and was introduced at the degree conferral as "Zahara Marley Jolie."
Maddox also filed a petition in May to change his name from "Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt" to "Maddox Chivan Jolie," citing "personal" reasons.
He already used a name excluding "Pitt" in the ending credits of his mother Angelina Jolie's film "Couture," released in February.
U.S. outlet Us Weekly reported that as early as 2021 Maddox had been using only "Jolie" rather than "Pitt" on most documents except legal papers, and that at the time Angelina Jolie was not actively supporting her son's choice.
Jolie and Pitt have six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne.
Youngest daughter Vivienne also omitted her father's surname when she and her mother participated in producing the Broadway musical "The Outsiders" last year, using the name "Vivienne Jolie" in Playbill.
Notably, Shiloh was the first to legally drop the surname "Pitt" on her 18th birthday. At the time, U.S. outlet Entertainment Tonight reported that Shiloh hired her own lawyer and paid the costs herself.
Foreign media report that since Jolie and Pitt split in 2016, all six children have kept their distance from Brad Pitt.
However, Page Six reported last month that son Pax still maintains close relationships with Brad Pitt's family. Another source said, "Pax is close with Pitt's family but has almost no relationship with Brad Pitt himself."
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