Celebrity3 min(s) read
Published 13:18 19 May 2026 GMT
As she walked across the stage at Spelman College, Atlanta, to receive her diploma, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter appeared to make a significant statement.
Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, but despite her full name being listed on the commencement program, her name was read out as “Zahara Marley Jolie”.
However, this is not the first time since her parents’ separation, which began in 2016, that she has used only her mother’s surname.
When she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in November 2023, she reportedly introduced herself as "Zahara Marley Jolie".
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The eldest daughter of one of Hollywood’s most famous former couples also used the shortened name when welcomed as a special guest at the Pearls of Purpose Foundation's Dearest Mother & Daughter: A Most Delightful Brunch Experience in April.
At the star-studded event Ethiopian-born Zahara told the audience about the "unique, almost kindred, relationship" she shares with her actor mom.
Zahara, who was adopted by Angelina and Brad in 2005, opened up about her loving mom in a recent Instagram video, saying: "I was adopted at six months old and given some of the most special and loving people as my siblings, with a mom who raised us on the value of helping others, being kind and always striving for growth as people.
"These values may sound simple, but in a world where kindness is overlooked and helping others comes at a cost, I am grateful to have had a role model to show me what it looks like to be a decent human being," she added.
Heartwarmingly, Zahara described Angelina as "the most selfless, loving and understanding woman who I get to call my mom."
The Girl Interrupted star said she has “learned so much from Zahara” in a Time 100 Talk in 2020.
Angelina continued: "She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman and her connection to her country, her continent, is her own and it’s something I only stand back in awe of."
Jolie, 50, and Pitt, 62, also share five other children, twins Vivienne and Knox, 17, plus daughter Shiloh, 19, and sons Pax, 22, and Maddox, 24.
Zahara is not the only one of her siblings to drop her father's last name, as in May 2024, her sister Shiloh filed paperwork to legally drop Pitt from her double-barreled surname, making her just Shiloh Jolie.
The couple, who met on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith in 2004 and married in 2014, began their gruelling separation in 2016 and only reached a final settlement in 2024.
Jolie won a brutal legal battle against Pitt over the sale of their French winery earlier this month.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Pitt, 62, cannot force Jolie, 50, to publicly share a set of private emails connected to her share in Chateau Miraval as the communications are protected.
