Angelina Jolie had every reason to keep her head down this week — but instead, she stepped out in Los Angeles beaming. The Oscar winner attended a special screening of the film Wild Horse Nine on Monday night, just hours after news broke that her youngest daughter, Vivienne, had legally dropped Brad Pitt's last name.
It is a moment fans have been watching closely for years. Vivienne, who turned 18 in July, is now officially Vivienne Marcheline Jolie — and she is not the first of her siblings to make that choice.
The Name Change That Made Headlines
Page Six exclusively reported on Monday that Vivienne's name change was approved during a Los Angeles court hearing, where her attorney appeared remotely. The judge read aloud her new legal name: Vivienne Marcheline Jolie.
Vivienne had filed her petition on July 20, just eight days after celebrating her 18th birthday alongside her twin brother, Knox. The timing made the move official the moment she legally became an adult.
The middle name Marcheline honors Angelina's late mother, Marcheline Bertrand — a touching detail fans were quick to notice.
The Fourth Child to Drop 'Pitt'
Vivienne is the fourth of Jolie and Pitt's six children to legally remove Pitt from their names. Her siblings Zahara, 21, Maddox, 25, and Shiloh, 20, have already done the same.
Her twin brother Knox also omitted Pitt from his high school diploma earlier this year, although he has not been confirmed to have legally changed his name.
The pattern has become one of the most talked-about threads in the former couple's long-running family story — and every new name change reignites the conversation online.
A Long Divorce Finally Settled
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016 after two years of marriage. The former couple were declared legally single in 2019, but the divorce itself was only finally settled in December 2024 after an eight-year legal battle.
Through it all, Jolie has kept her focus on her work and her children. Her Monday night appearance — waving briefly to photographers as she headed into the Linwood Dunn theater — showed a star very much in control of her own spotlight.
Jolie is not involved in Wild Horse Nine, the Martin McDonagh-directed film set in Chile in 1973, but her presence at the screening turned it into a headline event anyway.
What Fans Are Saying
Social media lit up within hours of the news, with fans praising Vivienne's decision and Jolie's calm, smiling public appearance on the same night.
For many, the moment felt symbolic: a mother and daughter, side by side in spirit, writing their own next chapter — on their own terms, and under one name.
As one chapter closes for the Jolie-Pitt family, all eyes are now on what Angelina does next — and judging by that smile in Los Angeles, she is ready for it.
