Brad Pitt Is “Aware and Upset” That His Daughter Shiloh Filed Legal Paperwork to Remove His Surname from Hers on Her 18th Birthday Last Week

“The reminders that he’s lost his children is, of course, not easy for Brad.”

Brad Pitt
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Marie Claire reported last week that Shiloh, the daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, used the occasion of her eighteenth birthday on May 27 to file paperwork to legally change her name from Shiloh Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Jolie—likely indicative of ongoing strain between Shiloh and her father. 

Though at least four of Jolie and Pitt’s six children have informally dropped “Pitt” from their surname, it seems Shiloh is, heretofore anyway, the only one of her siblings to take the matter to the courts—and, as Marie Claire reported on Sunday, apparently even hired her own lawyer and paid for the attorney’s services herself. (Maddox, Zahara, and Vivienne are the others who have reportedly stopped using “Pitt” in their moniker; no word on Pax or Knox.) 

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt

Shiloh apparently hired her own lawyer and paid for the attorney herself in her effort to remove "Pitt" from her surname.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Pitt, according to People, is “aware and upset” that Shiloh has opted to remove his surname from hers, with a source adding that “he loves his children.” When Jolie and Pitt became a couple in 2005—controversially, if you’ll remember, as Pitt had just ended his marriage to ex-wife Jennifer Aniston—Jolie had already adopted son Maddox and daughter Zahara (which Pitt later legally adopted, as well). The couple’s biological daughter, Shiloh, was born in 2006.

“He’s never felt more joy than when she was born,” the source speaking to People said of Pitt upon the birth of Shiloh that May. “He always wanted a daughter.” Jolie and Pitt later adopted son Pax, and twins Knox and Vivienne rounded out their brood in 2008.

Actress Angelina Jolie and her children Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt and Pax Jolie-Pitt are seen leaving the Louvre museum on January 30, 2018 in Paris, France.

Shiloh, seen here holding hands with Jolie alongside three of her five siblings in 2018.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

“The reminders that he’s lost his children is, of course, not easy for Brad,” the source continued. “He loves his children and misses them. It’s very sad.” Though they added that Pitt is “still happy with Ines [de Ramon]”—Pitt’s girlfriend—the distance from his children “pains him.”

A different source close to Pitt told People “He still loves all of his kids tremendously,” and added “This whole process has been very hard for the whole family.” 

Brad Pitt and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt

Pitt and Shiloh in 2014, at the premiere of Jolie's film "Unbroken."

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Brad Pitt and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt

Father and daughter in 2009.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Brad Pitt and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt

The two together in Venice in 2010.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Jolie and Pitt eventually married in 2014 after nine years together; Jolie filed for divorce just two years later, in 2016, and in doing so also filed for sole physical custody of their kids. Jolie and Pitt’s divorce battle still looms eight years on, not only over custody but also over their winery, Chateau Miraval. In a recent filing relating to the winery, a former security guard for the couple—who still works for Pitt—claimed in legal documents that Jolie allegedly “encouraged” the kids to “avoid spending time” with Pitt during visits.

Paul Murphy, an attorney for Jolie, later told People that “all Angelina has ever wanted was separation and health, with positive relationships between all members of their family, including Mr. Pitt.” 

HOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 05: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt attend the premiere of "By the Sea" at the 2015 AFI Fest at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on November 5, 2015.

The couple were together for 11 years before splitting in 2016.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Per Page Six, Jolie and Pitt were declared legally single back in 2019, but their divorce proceedings remain ongoing.

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Rachel Burchfield
Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.