Being born by a celebrity is something many people secretly wish for. But while there’s a lot of prestige that comes with a popular surname, a number of celebrity kids have done the unusual. From Shiloh Jolie Pitt to Malia Obama, there’s been a frequent trend of celebrity offspring changing their surnames. Let’s find out why.
Some years back, the daughter of former United States number one citizen, Barack Obama, dropped her famous surname. Malia Obama preferred to be Malia Ann when she took part in the film, “The Heart.” Viewers were stunned not to see the famous five-letter surname as the movie’s credits rolled by.
She isn’t alone. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter, Shiloh, did the same. Whether it’s a slight name change or a total one, it’s a major step nonetheless. But what could be their reasons?
The most notable one is the desire to step out of their parent’s shadows and chart their path. Sometimes, having your surname open doors for you and give you special treatment can be boring. It can even rob one of fulfillment.
In some other cases, a family dispute could produce bad blood between children and their celebrity parents. Let’s look at three of our biggest examples, Shiloh Jolie Pitt, Suri Cruise, and Malia Obama.
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Malia Obama and Suri Cruise
Speaking on his daughter’s name change, Barack Obama said his warning triggered her decision. “I was all like, ‘You do know they’ll know who you are.’ And she’s all like, ‘You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association.’ So I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that,” he stated.
For Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ daughter, Suri Cruise, it wasn’t an amicable affair. Reports have it that the actor’s relationship with Holmes and his daughter has soured. Suri Cruise went by Suri Noelle at her high school graduation earlier in the year. Noelle, being her mother’s maiden name.
Her actor mom appeared for the ceremony wearing a beige dress consisting of a collared jumper. She also put on silver heels and brown sunglasses. Suri, the star of the show was dressed in white. Tom was notably, but unsurprisingly, absent at the event. Instead, he was at the Wembley Stadium to watch Taylor Swift perform.
Katie Holmes’ who had Suri when she was 27 has since been divorced from Tom Cruise. The former couple got married in 2006 but cut ties just six years later in 2012. It was widely reported that Holmes ended the union to protect her daughter from Tom Cruise’s religion—Scientology.
Although Holmes gained primary custody of their daughter, the court allowed Cruise lots of time to visit. However, reports making the rounds suggested that he rarely did. This is likely the cause of the friction between father and daughter.
Shiloh Jolie Pitt
Another case of a celebrity child dropping their surname is that of Shiloh Jolie Pitt, daughter of Hollywood greats, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Shiloh didn’t wait long after her 18th birthday on May 18 to apply for a new name. In July, a legal notice of hers appeared on the pages of the Los Angeles Times.
This notice appeared four weeks before her court date as stipulated by California law. It also read that she wanted to change from Shiloh Jolie Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie. Although the reasons for her actions weren’t stated, it was likely connected to the ongoing divorce drama between her parents.
Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016. Although a judge declared them legally single in 2019, the divorce process hasn’t yet been completed. There has been a fierce contest between the couple over custody arrangements over Shiloh and their other children, Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16.
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What Is Shiloh Jolie Pitt’s Gender Identity
Although Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter, Shiloh Jolie Pitt has maintained her assigned gender identity from birth, credible reports show that she once thought about changing it. At a point in her teenage years, she told her parents to see her as a boy. She also told them to refer to her as “John.”
She didn’t stop there. Shiloh demanded a cropped haircut, boy’s clothings, and even identified as “one of the boys.” Although her parents accepted her new decision, Brad was bothered about the possible negative blowback it might trigger. He thought that other people would find it “obnoxious.”
Other Celebrity Kids Changing Their Names
Many other celebrity kids dropped their parents’ names for new ones. Angelina Jolie herself dropped her surname; she was once Angelina Jolie Voight. However, a crack in her relationship with her father, Jon Voight, who is also an actor led to her decision. Also, Voight had been unfaithful to her mother, Marcheline Bertrand during their marriage.
Another example is Tanner Elle Schneider, daughter of comedian Bob Schneider and model London King. She changed her name to Elle King after she became an adult and wanted to venture into the music industry.
Hollywood legend, Nicolas Cage wasn’t always called that. He changed his name from Nicolas Coppola so he wouldn’t have to promote his career through his family’s goodwill rather than merit. His surname was a pretty prestigious one in the industry. His uncle, Francis Ford Coppola was a successful director, as well as his cousins, Roman and Sofia Coppola.
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