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Angelina Jolie's 21-year-old daughter dropped her father Brad Pitt's surname as she crossed the stage to collect her diploma at Spelman College's 139th commencement ceremony in Atlanta on Sunday, May 17. Though the graduation program listed her as Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, her name was announced to the crowd simply as "Zahara Marley Jolie."
She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
It was not the first time Zahara has made this choice publicly. In November 2023, when she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, she introduced herself the same way. "My name is Zahara Marley Jolie," she said at the time in a clip that circulated widely on social media.
Zahara has not publicly addressed her relationship with her father, but she has been warmly and openly vocal about her bond with her mother. Last month, with Jolie by her side at the Pearls of Purpose Foundation's Mother Daughter Luncheon in Alabama, Zahara delivered a moving tribute to the woman who raised her.
"Our love for each other is a found one," she told the audience. "I was adopted at six months old and given some of the most special and loving people as my siblings, with a mom who raised us on the value of helping others, being kind and always striving for growth as people."
She called Jolie, 50, "the most selfless, loving and understanding woman who I get to call my mom."
Zahara is not alone among her siblings in stepping away from the Pitt name. Her younger sister Shiloh, 19, legally changed her last name to Jolie, while twin sister Vivienne, 17, has used Jolie professionally, most recently when she was credited in the playbill for Broadway production The Outsiders.
Jolie and Pitt, 62, fell in love on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2004, wed in 2014 and split in 2016. Their divorce was finalized in 2024.
