Shiloh Jolie-Pitt: This is her today
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt ignited a media frenzy when they first became a couple. Their union, whether adored, despised, or simply observed, dominated headlines, showcasing two of Hollywood’s most captivating personalities in every publication.
Amidst swirling rumors of infidelity and clandestine affairs, the iconic duo remained together for 12 years, nurturing a family of three biological children and three adopted children.
Angelina Jolie, renowned for her role in “Tomb Raider,” already had two adopted sons, Maddox and Pax, when she crossed paths with Brad Pitt on the set of “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” in 2004, during Pitt’s marriage to Jennifer Aniston.
Reflecting on their bond, Jolie shared with People magazine in 2006, “Because of the film, we ended up being brought together to do all these crazy things, and I think we found this strange friendship and partnership that kind of just suddenly happened.”
Their relationship blossomed, leading to the adoption of Ethiopia-born Zahara Marley in 2005, co-adopted by Pitt in 2006.
In 2006, the couple publicly acknowledged their relationship when Jolie announced her pregnancy with Pitt’s child, choosing Namibia for the birth to evade media scrutiny.
The birth of their daughter, Shiloh Nouvel, on May 27, 2006, captured global attention, with the first picture of the child estimated at $1 million. The couple donated the proceeds to UNICEF, emphasizing the plight of millions of infants in the developing world.
Shiloh, now 16, has grown up shielded from social media and public scrutiny, alongside her siblings, including older brothers and sisters and younger twins Knox and Vivienne, aged 14.
Interestingly, Shiloh has opted to go by the name John Jolie-Pitt since childhood, a choice supported by her parents, as revealed by Pitt in a 2008 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“She only wants to be called John. John or Peter. So it’s a Peter Pan thing. So we’ve got to call her John,” he said.
“So we’ve got to call her John. ‘Shi, do you want …’ – ‘John. I’m John.’ And then I’ll say, ‘John, would you like some orange juice?’ And she goes, ‘No!’ So, you know, it’s just that kind of stuff that’s cute to parents, and it’s probably really obnoxious to other people.”
Despite their divorce in 2019, her parents fully support her choice of name and her desire to match clothes with her brothers.
“She wants to be a boy,” Angelina told Vanity Fair. “So we had to cut her hair. She likes to wear boys’ everything. She thinks she’s one of the brothers.”
Mom Angelina approved of the name change despite the name Shiloh having a personal meaning to her.
“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 explained.
“It’s a name I always liked. I used to go under it in hotels: Shiloh Baptist. I’d gone under it when Brad called hotel rooms where I was staying.”
Despite Brad and Angelina’s divorce, Shiloh maintains a good relationship with both her parents.
What’s more, according to media reports, Brad Pitt is a very proud father.
“Brad’s kids are the most important thing to him. He tells his friends he learns so much about life from his own children,” a source told Entertainment Tonight, continuing:
“He and Angie have been getting along so much better since the custody rules have been worked out. They have come so far.”
Doesn’t Shiloh look so very much like her father? Many also think that she has inherited her mother’s lips.
“Brad is so proud of Shiloh and who she has become. He loves that she always stays true to herself and is so good to her brothers and sisters,” one source told ET.
Fast forward to March 2020, and Angelina Jolie revealed that her daughter had undergone surgery. She wrote for Time, in connection to International Women’s Day.
“I have spent the last two months in and out of surgeries with my eldest daughter [Zahara], and days ago watched her younger sister [Shiloh] go under the knife for hip surgery.
“So my wish on this day is that we value girls. Care for them. And know that the stronger they grow, the healthier they will be and the more they will give back to their family and community.”
In 2011, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt turned heads again when she showed up at the U.K. premiere of Marvel’s “Eternals”.
According to People, she wore the same black-and-white Dior her mother sported back in 2019 when Angelina attended a press conference for “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”.
Shiloh’s new appearance and choice of clothing made many raise their eyebrows. But this was not the first time Shiloh had borrowed her mother’s dress. In July 2021, Shiloh wore her mom’s Gabriela Hearst dress when she attended the US. premiere of “Eternals”.
We can all learn a lot from Brad and Angelina’s handling of this situation; allowing Shiloh to embrace what she’s comfortable wearing and how she wants her hair styled.
