Angelina Jolie comments on children dropping Pitt surname amid Brad Pitt estrangement

Angelina Jolie has spoken about her relationship with her children and their father, Brad Pitt, after all six of her children gradually dropped the “Pitt” surname.

The 51-year-old reflected on family life and personal recovery during an interview with Variety, where she discussed how her children have influenced her recent outlook.

“I think my fighting spirit is finally back,” she said. “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.”

Jolie shares Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 20, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 17, with Brad Pitt.

She added that her children have encouraged her to expand her life beyond Los Angeles as they approach adulthood.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

Over recent years, each of the children has moved to remove Pitt from their surname in different ways, including legal filings and public credits, with Shiloh among the first to do so.

Jolie and Pitt began their relationship in 2005, married in 2014, and separated in 2016. Their divorce proceedings continued for several years, alongside a custody dispute involving their six children.

Pitt previously addressed his relationship with his children in a 2017 interview with GQ, saying, “It's hit me smack in the face with our divorce: I gotta be more. I gotta be more for them. I have to show them. And I haven't been great at it,” adding, “When I get in that busy work mode, I'm not hearing. I want to be better at that.”