Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s eldest son, Maddox, has dropped “Pitt” from his name in the end credits of his mother’s new film, a move that appears to mirror similar decisions by other children from the former couple’s family.
Maddox, 24, is credited as “Maddox Jolie” on the film Couture, a drama starring Jolie that has begun screening in France. In previous credits, including on Jolie’s 2024 film Maria, he was listed using the double-barrel surname “Jolie-Pitt”, according to published credit listings and production materials.
The change has drawn attention because it comes after years of reported strain within the family following Jolie and Pitt’s separation, and because other siblings have also used the Jolie surname in public settings. Couture includes a behind-the-scenes role for Maddox, who worked as an assistant director on the film. People reported that the name “Maddox Jolie” also appeared in production notes provided to journalists when the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025.
Neither Jolie nor Pitt has publicly commented on Maddox’s credit listing. People said it contacted representatives for Jolie but did not receive an immediate response.
The professional credit change comes against the backdrop of a long-running and closely watched divorce process between Jolie and Pitt. The pair, who began a relationship after meeting on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith, married in 2014. Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, and their divorce was finalised in late 2024, after years of legal disputes.
Maddox’s updated credit listing has also been framed in relation to changes involving his siblings, particularly Shiloh. In 2024, People confirmed that Shiloh, who was born Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, was granted a legal name change and “will now legally go by Shiloh Jolie”.
At the time, Shiloh’s lawyer Peter Levine attributed a scheduling delay in the legal process to administrative requirements. “Unfortunately, the court was unable to complete the background check ahead of today’s hearing, so the hearing was rescheduled for August 19,” Levine said in a statement obtained by People. He added: “Everyone undergoing a name-change request needs to have a background check conducted by the court clerk, and because of clerical error, Shiloh’s hearing has been continued to a new date.”
Levine later issued another statement addressing public speculation about how the name-change process was handled. According to LADbible, he said the now-19-year-old had “made an independent and significant decision following painful events.” He also rejected claims that she had publicised the change herself, saying: “Shiloh Jolie did not take out an ‘ad’ announcing any name change, and any press reporting that is inaccurate.” He continued: “As Shiloh’s attorney, I am required to publish a legal notice because the law in California requires that of anyone who wants to change their name. That legal notice was published in the Los Angeles Times, as is required.”
Maddox is now the latest of the siblings to be publicly linked to the Jolie surname alone, though the legal status of his name remains unclear from the reporting. People noted that while Shiloh’s name change is official, “it’s unclear if the other siblings went through a legal process.”
Other public uses of “Jolie” have included credits and introductions linked to Zahara and Vivienne. People reported that in May 2024, in the Playbill for the Broadway musical The Outsiders, the teenager Vivienne was “credited as Vivienne Jolie,” not Vivienne Jolie-Pitt.
In Zahara’s case, People referenced a video posted by Essence showing her introducing herself during a sorority-related event, saying: “My name is Zahara Marley Jolie. And [I] landed all the way from the Golden State in the city full of angels: Los Angeles, California,” she said.
LADbible also reported that Zahara, now 20, “introduced herself as Zahara Marley Jolie” after joining Spelman College and becoming part of a sorority there, and that Vivienne was credited as “Vivienne Jolie” for a behind-the-scenes role connected to The Outsiders in 2024.
The reporting has linked these developments to ongoing tensions in the family. LADbible said that around the time of Shiloh’s legal process, “a source went on to tell People that Pitt ‘has virtually no contact with the adult kids,’ adding that the actor’s time with his younger kids is ‘more limited in recent months because of his filming schedule.’”
People also reported a separate comment attributed to a source about how Pitt was affected by Shiloh’s decision. “He’s aware that Shiloh dropped his last name,” the source said, according to People. “The reminders that he’s lost his children, is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them.”
Maddox’s professional work has increasingly taken place behind the camera. In addition to his assistant director credit on Couture, he previously worked as a production assistant on Maria, a film in which Jolie played opera singer Maria Callas, and was credited using the surname Jolie-Pitt in that project, People reported.
Couture is described by People as a drama in which Jolie plays “an American film director who’s diagnosed with breast cancer just as she arrives in France to make a video for a Paris fashion show.”
While public discussion has often focused on the symbolism of surnames, the available reporting centres on what appears in credit listings and official documents rather than confirmed statements from the family about intent. What is clear from the sources is that Maddox’s credit now reads “Maddox Jolie” on Couture, that Shiloh has legally adopted “Shiloh Jolie”, and that other siblings have used the Jolie surname in public-facing contexts, including theatre credits and introductions captured on video.