Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's 18-year-old daughter, Zahara, dropped her father's surname when she introduced herself at her new sorority's induction ceremony.
In a video shared by Essence, Zahara, a sophomore at Spelman College, is shown being inducted into the school's Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
“My name is Zahara Marley” she yelled, before shaking her hair and adding, “Jolie!” She also declared that she hails from Los Angeles as the crowd cheered her on.
Jolie adopted Zahara from an orphanage in Ethiopia in 2005. A year later, Jolie's then-boyfriend Pitt requested that his name be added to Zahara's. The couple, who raised six children together, announced they were divorcing in 2016.
“Ivies Up! The first Black sorority just gained a very familiar face as a member!” the magazine captioned the video. “Congratulations to Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who just joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. at @SpelmanCollege!”
Founded in 1908 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. According to their website, the sisterhood includes more than 1,064 chapters and more than 355,000 initiated members. Some of the sorority's high-profile members include Vice President Kamala Harris as well as the late Dr. Maya Angelou, actress Phylicia Rashad, and comedian Wanda Sykes.
In July 2022, Jolie announced that her daughter would be attending Spelman College, a historically Black women’s liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Zahara with her Spelman sisters!” the actor wrote when she shared the news on Instagram. “Congratulations to all new students starting this year. A very special place and an honor to have a family member as a new Spelman girl.”
The following month, Jolie was visibly emotional as she dropped off her daughter at the school.
“I’m going to start crying. I have not started crying yet,” Jolie told vice president for student affairs, Darryl Holloman, in a video posted to his Instagram in August 2022.
While standing next to the school’s president, Dr. Helene Gayle, Jolie was told that she would have “plenty of time to cry” at one of the upcoming ceremonies.
When Holloman how it felt to be a Spelman mom, the actor and philanthropist replied, “I’m so excited. I’m so excited.”
Jolie-Pitt is expected to graduate with the class of 2026.
“We are honored that Zahara Jolie-Pitt and her family chose Spelman College, and we welcome Zahara enthusiastically into the Spelman sisterhood,” Gayle previously told TODAY.com via email when news of Jolie-Pitt's decision was announced by the actor. “As the #1 HBCU in the country, there’s no place quite like Spelman, which has been an incubator for Black women’s education and excellence for more than 140 years. As well, it has a global network of alumnae that have and continue to change the world.”
Jolie is also mother to Maddox, 22, Pax, 19, Shiloh, 17, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15, with her ex Pitt.