The Transformation Of Vivienne Jolie-Pitt
Born just a minute after her twin brother, Knox, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt is the youngest of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's children, all of whom have grown up in the public eye (via People). It may seem like only yesterday that Angelina and Brad sold the first public photos of the newborn twins for a record-breaking $14 million, but Vivienne and her twin Knox are actually teenagers and on their way to becoming full-fledged adults.
With parents like Brad and Angelina, both of whom took the entertainment industry by storm, you would imagine that their children would also have an itch for acting. However, this doesn't appear to be the case for most of the Jolie-Pitt kids, with each of the children only having played in one or two minor roles over the years. While Vivienne and most of her siblings tend to keep a relatively low profile, there is still a lot to learn about the youngest of the Jolie-Pitt clan.
She was born in France with a special namesake
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt and her brother, Knox, were born on July 12, 2008, in Nice, France. After the twins' birth, the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, told the Nice-Matin newspaper (via People), "The newborns are, as history shows, authentic Niçois [citizens of Nice]."
Vivienne was given a middle name that holds a particularly heartfelt sentiment. She was named Vivienne Marcheline — the same middle name as Angelina's mother. This was a way to honor Angelina's late mother, who died of ovarian and breast cancer in 2007.
In an op-ed for The New York Times, Angelina wrote about how difficult it was to lose her mom. "I lost my mother in my thirties," she wrote. "When I look back to that time, I can see how much her death changed me. It was not sudden, but so much shifted inside. Losing a mother's love and warm, soft embrace is like having someone rip away a protective blanket."
She's grown up alongside her twin brother, Knox
Finding out you're having twins has got to be a wild mix of emotions. As Angelina told Entertainment Weekly, learning she and then-partner Brad were going to have twins was surprising (via People). However, the couple had a great support system, with Brad's family ready and willing to help out with the children.
Anyone who has seen "The Parent Trap" has likely wished they had a built-in best friend in the form of a twin sibling, and it appears that fraternal twins Vivienne and Knox have an enviably close relationship — photos published in Hollywood Life in 2022 show the two spending a sunny day in Los Angeles together, getting frozen yogurt with friends.
Research published in the Student Psychology Journal shows that twin siblings tend to share a deeper bond than non-twin siblings, and even that twin siblings tend to like each other more than non-twin siblings, so it's no surprise that these two seem to get along so well.
She starred in Maleficent with her mom
Five-year-old Vivienne Jolie-Pitt had the chance to make her acting debut right next to her mom in the 2014 film "Maleficent," which stars Angelina Jolie as a monstrous fairy set on revenge, and Vivienne as young princess Aurora.
Angelina explained her decision to allow Vivienne in the film, telling Vanity Fair, "We think it's fun for our kids to have cameos and join us on set, but not to be actors. That's not our goal, for Brad and I, at all. But the other three- and four-year-old [performers] wouldn't come near me. It had to be a child that liked me and wasn't afraid of my horns and my eyes and my claws. So it had to be Viv." Vivienne wasn't the only one who made an appearance in the movie — her siblings, Pax and Zahara, were both extras in the film.
She started learning Arabic at a young age
Angelina told Newsweek in 2016 that all of her children were interested in learning other languages, with her daughter Zahara taking up French and son Knox practicing sign language. And at just 8 years old, Vivienne was learning Arabic. Arabic is often considered one of the most difficult languages to learn, so props to Vivienne for overachieving!
It's likely that Vivienne and her siblings' curiosity and interest in other languages stems from her mom's passion for travel and understanding other cultures. With three adoptive siblings (older brother, Maddox, from Cambodia; older sister, Zahara, from Ethiopia; and older brother, Pax, from Vietnam), Vivienne has ample opportunity to learn more about the world. Angelina told the Financial Times back in 2011 that she encourages her children to learn with and from each other, saying, "They are all learning about each other's cultures as well as being proud of their own."
She is homeschooled
While the Jolie-Pitt children did attend a French school called Lycée Français for some time, Vivienne and her siblings eventually transitioned into homeschooling (via Romper). Even though Lycée Français has international campuses (which allow the kids to study wherever they happen to be traveling), homeschooling seemed more suited to Angelina and the family's jet-setting lifestyle. In 2011, Angelina Jolie told the Daily Mail that when the family is traveling, she is "the first person to say, 'Get the school work done as quickly as possible because let's go out and explore."
In the past, Angelina has explained that she wants her children to receive a better education than she did, saying at a screening for the movie "First They Killed My Father" (via People), "It bothered me how little I was taught in school. I do worry about my children's education." She continued to express her feelings on the importance of comprehensive education, explaining, "I homeschool partially because they are from around the world and it's very ... I didn't want them to have the same education I had when it came to Vietnam or Cambodia."
Angelina has also revealed that she prefers her children to spend time exploring their own interests. "I'd rather them go to a museum and learn to play guitar and read and pick a book they love," Jolie said (via Daily Mail).
Vivienne has walked the red carpet in support of her mom
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt has made appearances at several events in support of her mom's acting roles, like the "Eternals" premiere in 2021. Vivienne, along with Knox, Maddox, Zahara, and Shiloh, all showed up for their mom, each wearing their best formal attire for the red carpet. Vivienne and her siblings were pleased to see Angelina starring in a Marvel movie. "What's really moving to me is that they want to see me strong, and so it's less to see me in a film, but they're just happy I will be strong and having fun," Angelina said (via People).
But that's not the only time Vivienne and her siblings have shown up in support of their mom. They've also attended the premieres of other films, like Disney's "Dumbo," "Kung Fu Panda 3" and "First They Killed My Father" (via Us Weekly).
She hasn't expressed interest in becoming an actor
Since her role in the 2014 movie "Maleficent," Vivienne Jolie-Pitt hasn't taken on any other acting roles. As Angelina said of Vivienne and her siblings back in 2016, "They're becoming whoever they want to be." And that doesn't seem to involve acting (via Newsweek). "None of my kids want to be actors, thank God," Angelina said at the time (via Newsweek). She continued to explain that the kids are more interested in being musicians and learning other languages.
However, Angelina would undoubtedly support Vivien if she chose to go into acting. In 2021, the actor told People, "I have six very individual human beings in my home. I am so excited about all the different stages and feelings and curiosities that they go through. ... We're supposed to help them figure out who they are. And you can't figure out who they are if you don't enthusiastically develop with them."
She lost a beloved pet during the pandemic
During the already stressful pandemic, Vivienne was forced to cope with the loss of a pet. Angelina Jolie explained that it was a rough situation for her daughter, telling Harper's Bazaar, "During the lockdown, Vivienne's bunny passed away during a surgery." To help deal with the pain of losing a pet, Angelina said they decided to adopt two disabled bunnies. "They need to be in pairs," she explained. "They are so gentle and it has helped to focus on their care with her at this time."
Bunnies aren't the only animal that Vivienne loves, though. The home Angelina owns in Cambodia reportedly had a bit of a chipmunk problem. However, Vivienne didn't see it as a problem at all. "We got a call the other day informing us that chipmunks have moved into the house," Angelina told Harper's Bazaar (via Cosmopolitan). "They asked if we should remove them, and Vivienne was very clear that we needed to cover the wires and let them stay."
As she gets older, she gets mistaken for her sibling, Shiloh
Although Shiloh and Vivienne Jolie-Pitt have different styles and are two years apart in age, the two share an undeniable likeness, as evidenced in a situation in which Vivienne was mistaken for her older sister while shopping in Los Angeles. The two siblings have the same high cheekbones and honey-blonde hair, so it's understandable that they get mistaken for one another. However, the two share more in common than their looks.
As the South China Morning Post outlines, both were foreign-born — Shiloh was born in Namibia while Vivienne was born in France. They also both have names that hold special meanings. Vivienne was given Angelina's mom's name, Marcheline, as her middle name, and Shiloh's name also comes from their mother's side of the family. "It's a biblical name but we didn't name her for that," the actor explained to Vanity Fair (via People). "It was a name my parents almost named their first child — there was a miscarriage: Shiloh Baptist. Because my father had been shooting in Georgia and that was the most southern name [my parents] could come up with."
She has dealt with ups and downs in her family
According to People, Angelina and Brad met on the set of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" in 2003, and within a few years, the two were dating, becoming one of the hottest couples in Hollywood. They were engaged by 2012, married by 2014, and divorced by 2016. According to People, Angelina filed for divorce due to irreconcilable differences, but in the years following the divorce, several incidents have come out that suggest deeper issues were present.
Divorce isn't an uncommon occurrence – nearly 50% of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce. Even though it's common, it doesn't change the fact that it can be devastating to the people it impacts. Being a child of divorced parents can be a difficult thing to navigate, and it's likely that Vivienne and her siblings have gone through a lot as they've learned to adjust to new family dynamics, including being in the sole custody of their mother.
While a source allegedly told OK! magazine in 2022 that not all of the Jolie-Pitt children are keen on spending time with their father, "[Shiloh is] encouraging them to have a relationship with their dad because he's always been there for them, and he's a human being and doesn't deserve to be treated like a monstrous criminal." Additionally, the source alleged, "[Zahara] is warming up to the idea, and it's because of Shiloh's influence that Vivienne and Knox want to see more of their dad."
Vivienne's parents want their children to lead authentic lives
It's not uncommon for parents to want their kids to make good lives for themselves, even if the parents' idea of a good life differs from their children's. Because of this, many teens face at least a little micromanagement from parents, if not full-on tirades about avoiding art school and getting business degrees if they ever want to be successful. But not Vivienne's parents. It appears that the only thing her parents hope for her is that she stays true to herself.
Angelina Jolie told Harper's Bazaar in 2019: "Knowing our true self is a very important question for all of us. Especially a child. I think kids need to be able to say, "Here's who I am, and what I believe." We can't prevent them from experiencing pain, heartache, physical pain, and loss. But we can teach them to live better through it."
Vivienne's dad, Brad Pitt, also wants to support his kids on whatever journey they choose for themselves. "Listen, I want them to follow their bliss, follow their passions, whatever they're most interested in," he told People in 2020. "It's about guiding as you can, but they get to try everything on and try what their passion is."
She's grown into a theater fan
It appears Vivienne is a big fan of "Dear Evan Hansen," a musical about a high school student with social anxiety. In August 2022, Angelina Jolie and Vivienne Jolie-Pitt were photographed in Philadelphia backstage at the Forrest Theater, meeting the cast of "Dear Evan Hansen." The then-14-year-old has good taste: The New York Times described the show as a "gorgeous heartbreaker of a musical."
Though she certainly appreciates theater, it's too soon to say whether Vivienne will pursue the art herself. It's clear from what her parents have told the media over the years — they would undoubtedly support her in any endeavor — whether that's performing or something else entirely. But with one role already under her belt and an interest in theater, who know? Vivienne may very well be the Jolie-Pitt child that follows in her parents' acting footsteps. Only time will tell!