Growing up in the spotlight with a famous parent can be challenging, especially when the relationship with that parent is strained. Over time, some celebrity children have chosen to distance themselves from their famous parents by altering their last names. Here are some notable examples of celebrity kids who have made such changes due to family drama.
**1. Shiloh Jolie**
When Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s daughter Shiloh was born, she was given the hyphenated last name Jolie-Pitt. However, following her parents’ tumultuous split in 2016, Shiloh decided to drop her father’s last name. On her 18th birthday, she began the legal process to be known simply as Shiloh Jolie.
**2. Zahara Jolie**
Shiloh’s older sister, Zahara, has also chosen to drop her father’s last name. While she hasn’t made the legal change yet, she publicly referred to herself as Zahara Jolie during a sorority event at Spelman College, indicating her preference to distance herself from her father’s surname.
**3. Vivienne Jolie**
Another of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s children, Vivienne, has also opted to drop her dad’s last name. In the Playbill for the musical “The Outsiders,” which Vivienne helped her mom produce, she was credited solely as Vivienne Jolie.
**4. Vivian Jenna Wilson**
In 2022, one of Elon Musk and ex-wife Justine Wilson’s children requested a name change on her 18th birthday. She not only changed her surname but also her first name to reflect her gender identity, now going by Vivian Jenna Wilson. She cited her desire to no longer be related to her biological father in any way.
**5. Angelina Jolie**
Angelina Jolie herself went through a similar experience. Born Angelina Voight, she had a rocky relationship with her father, Jon Voight. As she rose to fame, she decided to legally drop her father’s last name in favor of her middle name, Jolie, to distance herself from him.
**6. Norah Jones**
Norah Jones, the daughter of famed Indian musician Ravi Shankar, was given her father’s last name at birth. However, after a period of estrangement, she legally changed her last name to that of her mother, Sue Jones, at the age of 16. She wanted to be known for her own merits as she entered the music industry.
**7. Jennifer Jason Leigh**
Jennifer Jason Leigh, the daughter of actor Vic Morrow and Barbara Turner, chose to change her name as a teenager to avoid being publicly associated with her estranged father. She adopted her middle name, Leigh, as her surname and added Jason as a tribute to a family friend.
These celebrity offspring have taken significant steps to redefine their identities, often as a means to distance themselves from complicated family dynamics.
Source: TMZ, The Independent, AnOther Magazine
