Zahara Jolie Drops Brad Pitt’s Last Name at Her Spelman Graduation

Time keeps flying, and somehow Zahara Jolie, the sweet baby girl Angelina Jolie cradled in those early 2000s paparazzi shots, is now a college graduate. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Spelman College on May 17, and the moment was beautiful, proud and quietly devastating for one absent father.

Because when her name was called, it wasn’t “Zahara Jolie‑Pitt.” It was “Zahara Marley Jolie.” No Pitt. No mention of the man who adopted her and then spent years making Angelina’s life, and the children’s lives, a legal battlefield.

Angelina Jolie’s oldest daughter, 21, dropped her father Brad Pitt’s last name as she walked across the stage to accept her diploma from Spelman College.

The 139th commencement at the college in Atlanta took place on Sunday, May 17. Zahara graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, according to a commencement program.

While the college graduate was listed as Zahara Marley Jolie‑Pitt on the commencement program, her name was read as “Zahara Marley Jolie” as she walked across the stage.

She notably introduced herself as “Zahara Marley Jolie” when she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in November 2023.

Zahara also went by her mother’s last name while being welcomed as a special guest at the Pearls of Purpose Foundation’s Dearest Mother & Daughter brunch in April. During the event, Zahara spoke to the “unique, almost kindred, relationship” she shares with her mom, 50.

“Our love for each other is a found one,” she said. “I was adopted at 6 months old and given some of the most special and loving people as my siblings, with a mom who raised us on the values of helping others, being kind and always striving for growth as people.”

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Zahara Jolie Graduates, Drops the Pitt Name, and Brad’s Absence Speaks Volumes

Seeing Zahara graduate from Spelman makes me feel so old. I swear she was just a baby yesterday, and now she is a college graduate with her whole future ahead of her. She is stunning and has her mother’s radiant smile, that same wide, beaming grin that Angelina has worn on red carpets and refugee camps alike.

Angelina seems like a genuinely great mom. All her kids appear down‑to‑earth, well‑rounded and happy despite the chaos their father dragged the family through. You can tell Angelina puts her heart into parenting, and it shows. She didn’t just adopt children; she built a family on purpose, with intention, and she shows up for every single milestone.

I also love that she supported Zahara going to an HBCU and even pledging Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. That is not performative allyship. That is a white mother immersing herself in her Black daughter’s culture and celebrating it without making it about herself.

Meanwhile, Brad Pitt apparently didn’t even reach out. None of the older kids seems to stay in contact with him. Maddox, Zahara, and Shiloh have all distanced themselves publicly. And now Zahara has made it official: she is a Jolie, not a Pitt. Good for her. Her future is going to be very bright. And Brad can sit with the consequences of his own actions.