Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt's son Maddox makes major decision

Maddox Jolie-Pitt has quietly but publicly dropped his father Brad Pitt's surname, appearing in the credits of his mother Angelina Jolie's newest film simply as Maddox Jolie.

The 24-year-old worked as an assistant director on Couture, a new drama starring Jolie as Maxine Walker, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer whose life intersects with two others during Paris Fashion Week. 

When the Alice Winocour-directed film opened in French cinemas on Wednesday, Maddox's credit listed only his mother's name. 

It marks a notable shift from 2024, when he was credited as Maddox Jolie-Pitt in his executive producer role on Maria, the film in which Jolie portrayed the late opera singer Maria Callas.

It is not the first time one of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's children has made such a move. 

Zahara, 21, left "Pitt" off her name during her Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority induction ceremony at Spelman College in Atlanta in 2023, referring to herself as Zahara Marley Jolie. 

And in 2024, Shiloh, 19, was listed as "Shiloh Jolie" in the Playbill for the Broadway production of The Outsiders, a play she helped her mother produce.

That particular decision hit Pitt hard, according to a source who spoke to PEOPLE at the time. 

"He's aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name. He's never felt more joy than when she was born. He always wanted a daughter," the insider said. 

"The reminders that he's lost his children is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them. It's very sad." 

The source added that Pitt "still loves all of his kids tremendously" and that "this whole process has been very hard for the whole family."

The backdrop to all of this is one of Hollywood's most drawn-out and acrimonious splits. 

Jolie, 50, filed for divorce from Pitt, 62, in 2016 and sought full custody of their six children, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox.

The pair were declared legally single in 2019, with their divorce finally settled in December 2024.

Despite those settled legal matters, the personal distance between Pitt and his children appears to remain. 

A source shared last year that the actor remains estranged from most of them, despite several attempts to reconnect.