Brad Pitt's 18-year-old daughter Vivienne has advanced her petition to legally drop the actor's surname by taking out a newspaper advertisement in The Los Angeles Daily Journal.
The teenager, whose mother is Pitt's 51-year-old ex-wife Angelina Jolie, is seeking to change her legal name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie.
She published notice of the petition once a week for four consecutive weeks from July 24 to August 14. The advertisement is a standard legal step in California, where those seeking a name change must publish an Order to Show Cause in a newspaper for four consecutive weeks before a court date.
A final hearing is scheduled for November 2 at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where Vivienne filed her petition. Anyone opposing the name change is asked to submit a written opposition beforehand, and a judge can approve the request if there are no objections.
According to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, the reason for the change was listed as "personal." The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Pitt and Jolie for comment.
Broadway debut and family healing
The newspaper notice is the latest step in Vivienne's ongoing effort to distance herself from the Pitt name. In May 2024, she listed herself as Vivienne Jolie in the Playbill program for the Broadway production of The Outsiders, where she served as a producer alongside her mother.
A source close to Jolie told People magazine that the actress is looking for "everyone to heal."
"If people knew the whole truth, they would have more sympathy for the children and respect them," the insider said. "The fact they aren't speaking ill or sharing things publicly only shows their decency."
The source added: "Angie hasn't been fighting and isn't angry. She just wants everyone to heal."
Vivienne, who was born in 2008 alongside her twin brother Knox, is the youngest of the former couple's six children. Knox is now the only sibling who has not formally moved to drop the actor's surname.
Siblings Zahara and Maddox file petitions
Vivienne follows her three older siblings in filing to change her name. Her brother Maddox, 25, and sister Zahara, 21, both published similar notices in the Los Angeles Daily Journal throughout June and July.
Zahara's notice appeared a month after she filed to change her name to Zahara Marley Jolie, with her hearing scheduled for September 28. Maddox filed to become Maddox Chivan Jolie in late May, with a hearing set for September 14.
Zahara previously dropped the last name three years ago upon joining a sorority at Spelman College, and used the name Zahara Marley Jolie during her graduation ceremony.
According to TMZ, Pitt skipped the graduation. A source close to Jolie told the publication: "Nothing prevented him from showing up for her. Or ever visiting her. The day was about all she accomplished. Not whether he was willing to attend."
However, multiple sources speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail defended Pitt, insisting he wants a relationship with his six children and is not the absent father he has been portrayed as.
Another sister, 20-year-old Shiloh, legally changed her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Jolie last year. Following the change, her lawyer Peter Levine told People she had made an "independent and significant decision following painful events," adding she was "merely following legal process" by publishing notice of the change.
Strained relationship with older sons
Pitt's relationship with his 22-year-old son Pax remains strained, though it is not known if Pax has stopped using the surname. Pax previously called his father a "world-class a**hole" and accused him of making his younger siblings "tremble in fear."
A source previously told the Daily Mail that Pitt considers his relationship with Pax "unfixable," after Pax was photographed last year stumbling out of the Chateau Marmont propped up by several friends.
"He has zero concern with what Pax does or doesn't do. [Pax's] actions reflect who he is," the insider said, adding that Pitt does not appear to be planning outreach to his adopted sons. "Pax and Maddox have made it abundantly clear how they feel and Brad has nothing to say about either of them."
Regarding his other children, the source said Pitt "holds out hope that the others will one day come around. Time heals wounds."
A source close to Jolie responded at the time: "Brad continues to play the victim. His fractured relationship with his children is a direct result of how he has treated them."
A separate source recently told the Daily Mail that Pitt views the rift with his children as "deeply painful" and "believes Angelina's role in how things unfolded is the ultimate betrayal."
Eight-year divorce battle
Pitt and Jolie, who were seen as Hollywood's "It" couple, met on the set of the 2005 film Mr and Mrs Smith and married in a secret ceremony in the South of France in August 2014.
During their relationship, they welcomed Shiloh in 2006 and twins Vivienne and Knox in 2008. They also adopted Zahara and Pax, and Pitt legally adopted Maddox, the son Jolie had adopted before the couple got together.
The marriage ended following a volatile plane incident in 2016 and abuse allegations. Pitt has adamantly denied the allegations, was never charged with a crime, and was cleared of physical abuse allegations by the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services.
The A-listers' grueling eight-year divorce battle was finalized in 2024. Pitt has moved on and has been dating 33-year-old jewelry designer Ines de Ramon for the last few years.
