Angelina Jolie reveals insight into why all her 6 kids drop surname 'Pitt'

Angelina Jolie finally took a break from the strained relationship between her ex-husband Brad Pitt and their six kids after all of them dropped “Pitt” from their names one by one.

​The Oscar-winning actress, in an interview with Variety for her latest film, Couture, gushed about how her “fighting spirit” is finally back years after her split, all “thanks” to her kids, who showed love and support to her.

Jolie further noted, “I think my fighting spirit is finally back. I lost it for a bit. I got kind of taken down a little bit, and it’s coming back in large part thanks to my children, who are now older, and encouraging it”.

​While gushing over her all-grown-up kids, Shiloh, 20, Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, and Zahara, 21, as well as 17-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, whom she shares with Brad Pitt, the doting mom noted, “My kids are almost all 18, so now they want to see me traveling the world, they want me to get out and do things.”

Sharing sweet insights into her bond with her brood of six, Jolie noted, “They know me more than anybody, and they still like me, which says a lot. I think they’re very encouraging of me, kind of getting back to aspects of myself that maybe I hadn’t felt as free to do.”​

The Fight Club star also hinted at the tumultuous years when she was in the middle of the legal fight with Brad Pitt, noting that she almost quit acting and was only “focusing on directing.” She added, “I thought I’d be doing my international work”.

But, Jolie shared, she had to return to her acting career for the sake of her kids. “Then, suddenly, the only way to be home more and for short periods of time, being away, or to make a good amount of money was to go back to acting. I was only taking things that were short or close by, or I could take [my children].”

Jolie and Brad Pitt were first romantically linked in 2005, and after nine years of dating, they tied the knot in 2014. However, the former couple parted ways in just two years.

After eight grueling years of divorce proceedings and a custody battle, they finalized their divorce in December 2024.